0* ^V 




-^--0^ 



--^i^', ^,^^^. ;^^, \^/ ;^^_ -^^^^. ,i(^§f^, 









.<?- 



Ho^ 












^..••, 



















The Life and Practice of the Wild 
and Modern Indian 

The Early Days of Oklahoma 
Some Thrilling Experiences 

By 

J. A, Newsome, 

Well Known Evangelist Who Was Converted From 

a Life of the Deepest Sin, Shame and 

Desperation 







Qfc^-^ 



This book is no doubt the greatest and most inter- 
esting and educational ever written on this subject, 
and doubtless the last one to be written by a pioneer 
of the Southwest. 

Price $1.50 




J. A. NEWSOME 

:06 South Bickfoid 
El Reno, Okla. 



The Life and Practice of the Wild 
and Modern Indian 

The Early Days of Oklahoma 
Some Thrilling Experiences 

By 
J. A, Newsome, 

Well Known Evangelist Who Was Converted From 

a Life of the Deepest Sin, Shame and 

Desperation 




This book is no doubt the greatest and most inter- 
esting and educational ever written on this subject, 
and doubtless the last one to be written by a pioneer 
of the Southw^est. 

Price $1.50 






Dedication. 

To the memory of my Father, 
this book is lovingly and grate- 
fully dedicated. 



^3- '46^. 



JAN -2 '23 



■^w. t. 



I 



AUTHOR'S NOTE 

Friends have solicited me at different times during 
tlie last ten years to write a story of the early days of 
Oklahoma and the Indians with whom I was intimately 
associated, but for various reasons, I have declined to 
grant their request until now. 

I came to Oklahoma in 1880, when I was six years 
old. The following pages will truthfully portray inci- 
dents and events which actually transpired in my per- 
sonal experience during the forty-one years I have spent 
in the State. Although many things will sound like an 
"Arabian Nights" tale, I have not lighted my imagina- 
tion by the brillance of an Aladdin's lamp while report- 
ing the romantic events which I witnessed in the years 
that have fled like the dream of tht midnight hour. I have 
written the truth without exaggeration. 

For twenty years I lived with the Indians. During 
that long, aimless period of savagery and ignorance, I 
never heard a sermon or a prayer, and never had the 
privilege of being taught by a back-woods schoolmaster 
or listening to any instruction from a civilized human 
being. Early left an orphan, I had no one to teaoh me 
in the ways of civilization and righteousness. I did not 
understand the meaning of life. The horizon line a few 
miles away was as the end of the world to me. The 
forests and hills among which I roamed were all the 
world I knew; to them was limited my knowledge of 
the material universe. 

What a wonderful contrast is presented by the diai- 
advantages under which I lived and tihe supreme advant- 
ages that are offered to. young men and women of the 
present time ! What an encouraging lesson is to be 
learned in the consideration of the conditions of poverty, 
lawlessness and ignorance that enslaved me in the days 
of childhood! Sometimes I wish I might live my life 
over and have this day of enlightenment, social develop- 
ment and religious achievement in w'hich to begin it; but 
also, I wonder if I would abuse the privileges of the pre- 
sent degree of civilization, and waste the opportunities 
lor advancement as so many hundreds and even thou- 



sands of young men and women are doing today. 

The savage Redskin of twenty years ago has become 
a waning memory. His blood-curdling war-whoop is 
heard no more. The instruments of carnage with which 
he committed the most inhuman acts of brutality — the 
bow and arrow, tomahawk and scalping knife — are ex- 
hibited as relics of a dead past, and are to be seen only 
in museums. But the twenty years of my life spent with 
"Poor Low" have made me understand and appreciate 
him; he is no memory to me, he lives in my heart for- 
ever. 



Table of Contents 

Introduction 

Entering the Territorial Wilds -— - '^ 

The First Night in the Territory— Camping the Sei-ond. Tliird, 
Fourth and Fifth Nights— Attacked by a Mexican liion. 

In the Camp of the Chickasaws ^6 

Making a Tepee— The Art oC Indian Women in Coalvin;— Art 
and Workmanship .of the Indian— A Sad Tragedy ..£ the 
Indian Camp— A Fight Between an Indian Biave and a 
Grizzly Bear — Leaving tlie Indian Camp. 

Settling in the Seminole Nation, -- - - - ^^ 

Another Night on the Lone Prairie-The Approaching of a Great 
Storm— Attacked by Animals— Witnessing tie I'list W.u 
Dai^ce— The Indian Lovers' Suicide Pact— Parting with the 
Indian Guide — Entering the Seminole Nation. 

Living Among the Seminoles - - - 59 

Finding the First White Family— Poetry Composed by the 
Author— The meaning of Indian Dances— Attacked by a 
Lion. 

White Neighbors at Last! -- '^^ 

A Description of the Wild Hog— Meeting the First White Girl 
of the Territory. 

The Opening of Oklahoma 96 

The History of the Seminoles m 

A Short History of Various Indian Tribes. 121 

Origin and Meaning of Names— (5herokees—Cre<-ks— Seminoles 
^_Mayas— Pawnees— Sac and Fox— Chickasaws— Alonkiiis. 

Federal Officers of the Early Days 134 

OUTLAWS OF Oklahoma and Indian Territory.. 155 

The Killing of Sliort— The Dalton Gang— The Killing of Ike Dal- 
- 1011^ at (^.flovville- Tlie Deatli of Bill Doolin— Th.> Doolin 

(j.i,ijv_i)i,.k "West— The Fight at Ingalls— Bill I>ooli" « 
Courtship an.l Marriage— Hunting the Doolm Gang— The 
Capture of Doolin— The Jennings Gang— A Short Story ot 
Henry Starr — Bell Starr. 



INTRODUCTION 

'Now that the bloody disturbances which occurred be- 
tween the Indians and the white men in the past are 
swallowed up in a fraternal understanding and reconcil- 
iation, we may reflect clearly that misunderstanding of 
habits of living was the chief cause for conflict. The 
white man with his methods did not know how to cope 
with the dusky-skinned savages. The Indian did not 
understand the white man because he was intellectually 
incapable of knowing himself. Misunderstanding upon 
the part of both races naturally resulted in brutal con- 
flicts in which mercy could scarcely be exercised by 
either, hence wars between them were characterized 
by fiendish brutality and mercilessness. They were wars 
of extermination, because the Indians fought in the 
spirit of the "Black Flag", and the white men were 
forced to meet them on such terms. 

The fact that the Indian believed in the annihilation 
of his enemies is not unusual, since it is clearly demon- 
strated in the history of all ages and races of people 
that such slaughter is characteristic of all uncivilzed 
men. The heathen today, no matter what his race, be- 
lieves in killing his enemies, and will practice the cus- 
tom as far as it is in his power. 

The Indian lived in an environment that naturally 
contributed to his brutal nature. He was satisfied to 
dwell in the unconquered fastnesses of the wilderness 
and fight with its wild beasts for his existence. He 
learned cunning from the cowardly panther, courage 
and daring from the now extinct Mexican lion, and de- 
termination and endurance from the grizzly bear. 
Thus he defended his right to dwell in the great forests 
of America. 

The wild Indian did not have any of the constructive 
elements of progress in his nature. He was not a 
builder of cities or homes. "Poor Low" was a shrewd 
fellow, and managed to dodge manual labor as .suc- 
cessfully as many members of the white race are doing 
it today. He honored his wife, and condescended to let 
her make the living while he sported around and kept in 



2 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

tune for the fight. How much worse was he, then, than 
are some unworthy males of the white race today? The 
heathen Indian husband imposed labor upon his wife 
because he was uncivilized and did not know any bet- 
ter, while the worthless white man permits his wife to I 
make the living because he is too lazy to work. ■ 

The Indian in his most savage and untamed state 
was nevertheless endowed with noble, redeeming traits 
of character. Among the most commendable elements 
of his nature was his unswerving support of a friend, al- 
though that person might have belonged to a company I 
that was making war on the tribe of which the Indian ' 
was a member. History teems with countless instances 
in which the savage red man not only risked but gave 
his life for a friendly enemy. 

In all of my associations with the Indians, I never 
knew one of them to tell a wilful, malicious lie. With 
the advent of the white men came the gentle art of lying, 
as well as the practice of drinking "fire-wat^^r". 

Ignorant though he was, the old Indian was not an 
atheist. His faith, like that of the ancient Athenians, 
was placed in an unknown God whom he did not under- 
stand, but whose existence he never doubted. He ap- 
proached Him as the "God of the Happy Hunting 
Ground". The chief happiness of the Indian consisted 
in hunting, and the highest heaven in his thought con- 
sisted of a section that abounded with game of all 
kinds. He was so infatuated with hunting that it was 
but natural he should connect the idea of immortality 
with it. Then he cannot be termed an atheist, because 
he believed in a Supreme Being and an unending des- 
tiny, and he expressed his belief in the best terms he 
was capable of using. 

The uncivilized Indian was incapable of judging cor- 
rectly between right and wrong because of his ignorance I 
of morality. He never suffered from remorse of con- ' 
science, for the reason that conscience is largely a 
creature of education. He trained what little of that 
element he had to indorse his deeds, no matter how 
atrocious they might have been. He could enjoy him- 



Introduction 3 

self and rest calmly in the glory of his great achieve- 
ment, no matter by what methods he secured the vic- 
tory. The most inhuman death to which he could sub- 
ject a prisoner of war filled his gloating soul with su- 
preme satisfaction. He rejoiced with fiendish glee over 
the death of a decrepit old man or an innocent babe in 
arms, but, strange as it may appear, there is no instance 
on record of his having criminally assaulted a white wo- 
man before she was tortured and killed. 

There were some extenuating circumstances that jus- 
tified the wars of the red man against the invading 
white man. Why should he not have considered them 
usurpers of territorial rights? Also, did not these "pale- 
faces" drive him out of his home and force him to seek 
sections farther west? He had no country he could gov- 
ern and claim as his own. He could not understand 
the justice of this, and made war in his ignorant way 
to protect his rights. But he could not annihilate the 
white race, and he had to decide between one of two 
alternatives, either live in peace with the white men or 
be exterminated. He finally accepted the former, and 
as a result he is now waxing fat and honorable in the 
land. 

The white men were forced in self-defense to whip 
the fight out of "Poor Low" before they could get him 
to listen to reason. Since then, pale-face and redskin 
have walked side by side in every good cause that con- 
tributes to the advancement of both. Nowadays they 
meet as brothers, "pals", equals in the arena of civiliza- 
tion. 

The modern Indian is the most efficient and success- 
ful imitator of the white race in the world today, and 
he has become so much like us that he goes to church 
and prays for the conversion of the poor heathen, he 
practices corruption in politics, he lies and curses, he 
wears "store-bought clothes", puts talcum on his face 
after shaving, and combs his hair with a modish part in 
the middle. One ultra-modernist has been found who 
uses "Lash-brow-ine", but he was a "she", however. Is 
it not wonderful how rapidly the Indian has been civil- 



4 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

ized in the last forty years? Who can depict his fu- 
ture if he keeps getting richer in oil? 

The Indian could not have risen above his untutored 
nature without help from the outside. Under the in- 
fluence of missionaries, school teachers and civilized 
neighbors, he demonstrated his ability to absorb new 
ideals by adopting the ways, manners and forms of civ- 
ilization. There is not a race of people in the world 
that has made as complete a change in the same length 
of time as the red face achieved. The modern Indian 
is a living epitome of the wonderful achievement of 
race regeneration under the benevolent influence of civ- 
ilization. Fifty years ago, Indians were killing innocent 
women and children, burning the homes of settlers, and 
filling the land with violence; today, he who is the 
lineal descendant of those savage, blood-thirsty heath- 
ens takes rank among us as leaders in peaceful and in- 
dustrious pursuits. 

In all their dealings with the Indian, the white men 
were always forbearing and as merciful as the Indian 
would permit them to be. The white men were never 
the aggressors in any wars that occurred with the Indian. 
They were always on the defensive, and when the issue 
was ultimately decided in their favor, they were ready 
to meet the vanquished savage more than half way. 
Such terms of peace were made as would reflect credit- 
ably upon their own cause and contribute the largest 
advantage to future generations, and would, at the same 
time, reconcile the Indian to his condition and make 
him the friend of the white men and the Government 
they represented. 

The Government always pursued a policy of wise pac- 
ifism in dealing with the war-like and unruly savages. 
There is not an instance on record where the Govern- 
ment employed military force to suppress war-like 
tribes or put down rebellion among them, until it was 
compelled to resort to arms as the only means of pro- 
tection. But the end of the war v/as the signal for the 
Government to inaugurate means for the protection, ed- 
ucation and reconciliation of the vanquished foe. The 



Introduction 5 

Indian, although a savage, was not slow to see that he 
was wrong in his contention, and in the majority of in- 
stances he showed his bigness by kissing the hand that 
smote him. He gradually began to see that the white 
man's war on him was made for the good. Force was 
employed only as a means through which the Indian 
might be made to accept the ultimate decree of civiliza- 
tion. 

The Indian has been a beneficiary of the Govevrnment 
from the date of its organization to the present time ; it 
has schooled and fed him, and still pays him large sums 
of money annually. It is true that "Poor Low" was 
mistreated in many respects, but it is also true that, in 
the end, his white enemy proved to be his best friend 
and benefactor. The Indian owes his present high 
degree of material, religious and sociological prosperity 
to the influence and sacrificial service of the white man. 
The pale-face showed him how to convert his forests 
into fertile farms and happy homes, and how to turn 
the sod of his rolling prairies into harvests of golden 
grain. The Indian had scampered for centuries in 
search of victims upon which he might wreak his lust 
for murder, and he never once dreamed of the vast coal 
beds and hidden oil fields that today pour millions into 
the coffers of civilized nations. It is needless to say 
that he would be roaming the plains yet, if the white 
man had not taught him better, and discovered the 
great wealth that had been trodden underfoot for so 
long. 

The history of the world furnishes indubitable proof 
that, in the Providence of God, the white or Caucasian 
race was born to a place of supremacy among the races 
of men that dwell upon the earth. It is therefore im- 
possible for any race to displace the pale-faces perma- 
nently. The white man from time immemorial has dis- 
tributed the highest ideals of culture, religion and civili- 
zation among all peoples, tribes and tongues. Through 
all past ages he as been the pioneer of progress and the 
"pathfinder for civilization". He imitates none, but is 
imitated by all races. He occupies the highest rung in 



6 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

the ladder of races. He is unconquerable in war, and 
an invincible leader in all human progress. The noble 
civilization that illumines the world with the unfailing 
lights of science, philosophy and religion is a compliment 
to his genius. 

The white man believes that the world is his do- 
main, and he does not limit his operations to one re- 
mote corner of the earth. He travels to the end of the 
world, and when he reaches it, he "takes the air". He 
keeps going "while his head is hot", and thinks that he 
has a right to stop and settle wherever he chooses. He 
believes therefore in liberty and freedom for all races, 
and in constitutional equality. The supremacy of the 
white race in America was as necessary for the intel- 
lectual uplift and material prosperity of the Indian, as 
it was inevitable in the Divine order of racial adjust- 
ment. 



1 



CHAPTER I 

Entering the Territorial Wilds 

I was born in the State of Missouri in 1874. The fol- 
lowing year my parents moved to Texas. Soon after, 
they both died, leaving seven helpless orphans to the 
cold charity of the world. In a very short time my 
brothers and our only sister were scattered out to make 
their way as best they could under the awful misfortune 
that had befallen them. It is not difficult to imagine 
what overwhelming disadvantages confronted such un- 
protected children just starting on the uncertain journey 
of life. Remember too, that we were on the borders of 
civilization and in a thinly populated country! 

It will be recalled that forty years ago, the "Lone 
Star" State, which now shines so brilliantly in our gal- 
axy of progressive states, was a frontier section with 
very few permanent settlements. It was infested with 
savage red men, roving bands of Mexican cattle thieves, 
and murderous outlaws, many of whom had been driven 
from the "Old States" by officials enforcing law and 
order. It was not an environment in which culture or 
Christianity could thrive. The fact that we children 
passed through that period without making shipwreck 
of life and becoming bandits or red-handed murderers is 
truly a miracle of Divine Providence. One might travel 
for miles without seeing any sort of habitation except 
an occasional lone ranch house. 

My story would not be complete without mentioning 
the Williams' ranch. It was bounded on one side by 
the Red River, and extended for miles along the bank 
on the Texas side. It was near the present site of Qua- 
nah, Texas. The house in which the Williams' family 
resided was a good, substantial structure containing 
eight rooms. The materials used in the construction of 
the house were hauled from Fort Worth, a distance of 
one hundred and twenty miles. 

Mr. Williams was a very kind-hearted man of a ?^en- 
erous, forbearing spirit. I will never forget the kind- 

(7) 



8 The Life and Practice of the Indian 




?.[RS. S. D. GARNER 
The Author's Sister 



I 



Entering the Territorial Wilds 9 

ness he bestowed upon Sister, Little Brother and me. >Ie 
gave Sister employment and permitted her to keep us, 
aged four and six. 

The two-roomed house in which we children lived 
stood near a ford on the river known as "Dead Man's 
Crossing." The - name was given to commemorate the 
sacrificial deeds of officers of the law and private citi- 
zens, who gave their lives at this crossing in an effort 
to rid the country of cattle thieves, bandits and refu- 
gees who fled to the frontier from all parts of the 
United States to escape the penalties their lawless deeds 
justly merited. 

It was in the year 1879 that many Indians — Chicka- 
saw in particular, — coming into Texas for food, forded 
the river at Dead Man's Crossing. Of course they 
passed near our house, and in this way Sister became 
familiar with them and, strange as it may seem, began 
to take a sincere, sympathetic interest in the benighted 
race. She did not fear them in the least, and they 
seemed to like her. They respected her, and some of 
them would have died a thousand deaths rather than mo- 
lest her or permit others to harm her. Perhaps her 
power over them resulted from some mysterious in- 
fluence that she unconsciously exerted upon Indians 
who came into her presence, and that was distributed 
through the unselfish interest she took in them. She 
believed sincerely in the Indian race, and her success 
and safety in dealing with them abundantly verifies the 
truth of the scripture "as your faith, so be it unto you". 

But the Indians of the date I am now discussing 
(1879) did not give the people of Texas much trouble — 
really serious trouble. They had been driven out of 
the State between the years 1835 and 1865, but they 
had made occasional raids on the Texas people up to 
1879. However, they were not successful and had 
learned to stay near the borders where they would be 
in close proximity to their rendezvous in Oklahoma. 

The Chickasaws, Osages, Cherokees and Coctaws 
were less hostile than any other tribes of Indians in 
America toward the advances of the white men; the 



10 The Life and Practice of the Indian 




MRS. J. A. NEWSOME 
The Author's Wife 



Entering the Territorial Wilds 11 

Choctaws in particular were more peaceable than any 
of the other tribes. However, many tribes were at war 
with each other, and all warring tribes were ready at 
any moment to surprise and murder white settlers; no' 
man's life was safe in that day in any part of the Ter- 
ritory. 

It has never been clear to me why Sister decided to 
penetrate the wilderness of Oklahoma at that time. 
Members of the tribes mentioned above often visited 
cur little home on the Texas side of the Red River, and 
Sister became acquainted with a great many of them. 
The Choctaws were' very friendly, as were the Chicka- 
saws. Sister could not be persuaded to abandon the 
trip, and getting things ready, she took Little Brother 
and me and crossed the river into the Territory. I did 
not then understand the danger of the undertaking 
upon which we had entered, and in my childish heart 
1 was glad that we were going, although I did not know 
where. 

We met an aged Chickasaw shortly after getting on 
the Territory side, and he tried in vain to persuade Sis- 
ter not to undertake the trip. He spoke of the dangers 
from wild beasts, bandits and wild Indians, but she 
would not consent to return home. Instead, she begged 
the old Indian to guide her to the Seminole country. 
When he had finished his trading at the Military Po^t, he 
returned and offered his services. 

In those days the Government stationed an agent at 
the Military Posts to buy furs from hunters and trappers. 
The Indians took advantage of the opportunity to mar- 
ket the skins of animals that were trapped or killed by 
them in the chase. Our guide had come more than one 
hundred and fifty miles through an uninhabited wilder- 
ness marked only by a dim trail leading through forests 
and over hills, to market his furs which he packed on 
a little burro. 

The old Chickasaw had acquired a very good knowl- 
edge of the English language through association with 
traders on the Texas side, and so we found him a very 
companionable and interesting guide. I am now well 



12 



The Life and Practice of the Indian 




be 



Entering the Territorial Wilds 13 

aware of the fact that we would have been lost and des- 
troyed in the Territory if it had not been for the pro- 
tection that he gave us during the trip to the Chickasaw 
Nation and later to the Seminole country. 

The first night that we spent on the Territory side 
was in July. The night was cloudless, and countless 
stars kept vigil over three lonely orphans who knew 
not whether they would see the dawn of another day. 
The hoot of the horned owl, the howls of coyotes, and 
the blood-curdling scream of the panther made the 
night hideous and almost sleepless for us. 

Sister arose at dawn and prepared our scanty break- 
fast. Soon after, we started with our Indian guide upon 
the most memorable and interesting journey it has ever 
been my good fortune to undertake. However, I would 
not undertake it again if I were given the opportunity 
to do so. Now, I can appreciate it because of the rich 
experience that I acquired; but I very frankly admit 
that I do not have any desire to forsake again the 
walks of civilization, plunge into the wilderness, and 
brave the dangers from wild beasts and savage men. 

I will never forget that wonderful morning. The 
sun rose in gorgeous splendor, casting a golden sheen 
over the wilderness and painting forests and valleys 
with acres of diamonds and fields of pearls. Light rays 
filtered through the branches of towering oaks and 
played peek-a-boo with the wild roses showing their 
lovely faces against the dark undergrowth. 

The trail over which we traveled was known only to 
Indians and bandits. It led partly over and partly 
around the Arbuckle Mountains. We follewed it for a 
distance of about twenty miles, and camped on the bank 
of a small stream that had its source on a mountain- 
side and flowed in an easterly direction out into an 
open valley. It was very restful to a tired and foot- 
sore boy to watch the crystal-clear waters leap and 
sparkle over rocks, winding their tireless way off to the 
dim horizon. 

The second night of our journey was without any ex- 
citement, except the astonishing sound of the swish- 



14 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

swish of wings as hundreds of wild turkeys came to 
roost in the trees. The next morning they made the 
welkin ring with their gobbling, and flew away among 
the trees. I retain as a delightful memory the rushing 
roar of wings as they left their roosts. 

We started on the second day's journey with many 
misgivings, but still our hearts were happy when we 
thought of the end of the trip and what it would mean 
to us. We were not afraid of the results of our venture. 
I believe that the majority of discoverers in all ages 
have been led by a strange, mysterious inspiration to 
forsake the land of their birth, and have gone forward 
into unknown regions with the feeling that they were 
being forced to go on the voyage or journey by some un- 
known power. There is no resisting the burning de- 
sire to enter upon the discovery of new lands. We are 
in America today because of the flaming desire planted 
in the soul of Columbus. The discovery of America 
was an accident, humanly speaking, but we thank God 
that the continent was happened upon in time for us 
to locate here, we being spared the extra trouble of be- 
ing born in some other country and the expense of 
tearing up the household and moving to this wonderful 
land. 

The day dawned clear and beautiful. As the sun 
touched the hill-tops with glory, we started on one of 
the most eventful stretches of the journey. It was about 
ten o'clock when we reached the foot-hills of the Ar- 
buckle mountains. I shall never forget the wonderful 
scene that was presented to my eyes as I gazed upon 
the gorgeous landscape for the first time in my life. 
The silvery, gurgling streams, the verdure of the great 
forest, and the brown stone steps of the mountains were 
in wonderful contrast. Although but a boy, I magnified 
the mysterious power of God who created all things, 
and tried to get an intelligent idea of His personality 
as He exists in a sphere of unapproachable enthrone- 
ment — surrounded by countless angels and clad with 
eternal glory. 

We reached the top of the mountain early in the af- 



Entering the Territorial Wilds 



15 




^ o 
a m 



16 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

ternoon, but a very short time before we came to the 
crest of the ridge, the Indian guide, who was a few 
paces in advance, gave an exclamation of surprise and 
beckoned us to stop. We did so immediately. The cause of 
his excitement was a very large diamond-backed rattle- 
snake, perhaps the largest snake of the kind that I 
have ever seen. 

I have wondered since then why the guide did not 
kill the reptile, for he passed on without doing it any 
injury. He may have associated with the snake some 
superstitious idea, and hoped by sparing its life to be 
rewarded in some way unknown to himself. Or, he may 
have hoped, by allowing the serpent to go unharmed, 
to receive mercy at the hands of his enemy at some 
future time. In their savage state, it was but natural 
that the Indians of those days should associate their 
own lives with that of the beasts of the field. But they 
had inklings of immortality. They were constrained 
from unnecessary slaughter of animals by their idea of 
the similarity of all life. A Redskin never took the life 
of animal or fowl while there was meat in his tepee. 
It was only the pinch of hunger that induced him to 
kill. When he had secured enough meat for a few days 
in advance, he left the hunting-ground and passed by 
all kinds of game without molesting it in any way. If 
civilized men had followed that rule, the buffalo, deer, 
and antelope would be of great use today. But they 
were ruthlessly slaughtered, and the world is paying 
the penalty for the crime that thoughtless men com- 
mitted for the sake of the sport in testing their marks- 
manship. 

We camped about sun-down on the bank of a little 
creek which is now known as the South Fork of Wild 
Horse Creek. I had the pleasure of watching the start- 
ing of a fire by the Indian guide. He gathered a few 
dry twigs and ignited them with flint rocks by knock- 
ing the rocks together near the sticks so that the sparks 
would set the dry bark on fire. I had brought a load 
of wood, with the intention of building a large fire so 
that we could have light, but he forbade me without 



Entering the Territorial Wilds 17 

giving any reason. Sister Seina was in the act of build- 
ing the fire near a large oak tree, but the guide ob- 
jected. When she asked him the reason, he gave the 
following explanation: the burning torch was used as a 
signal of attack by wild Indians, and for the same pur- 
pose by enemies lying in ambush. The reflection of a 
bright light would be noticed by any near-by Indians 
and would draw their attack upon us. Then, it was also 
true that the panther and Mexican lion would be at- 
tracted, and although they would not attack people 
around the blazing fire, they would skulk around until 
the fire had gone out, and then pounce upon the sleep- 
ing victims. Sister and I were quite willing that the 
wise old guide should build his small fire under a ledge 
of rock so that the reflection would be screened. Cam- 
ouflage is an old-age practice. 

We slept under the ledge of rock, and I used my hat 
for a pillow. I will never forget how uneasy and rest- 
less I was from worrying whether that ledge of rock 
would fall on me during the night; I felt, the next 
morning, that I had had a very narrow escape. But that 
rock cave is there today, and the ledge is still standing. 

Our journey the third day led for twenty miles across 
beeautiful valleys lying between the North and South 
mountains. In the afternoon, we were attracted by the 
peculiar actions of the guide, who stopped occasionally, 
placed his ear to the ground, listened intently for some 
time, and then resumed his march. In a short time, we 
discovered the cause of his actions. Three horsemen ap- 
peared one behind the other, riding in a gallop over 
the trail that we were traveling, but going in the op- 
posite direction. They did not break their gait or halt, 
but merely spoke to us as they passed and were soon 
gone. 

Travelers in that day of savagery and lawlessness 
had the advantage of the protection that is afforded by 
an open country. The forests were then free from un- 
derbrush, the great trees standing out independently. 
One could see far into the depths of the forest. It is 
entirely different now. The undergrowth in all of our 



18 



The Life and Practice of the Indian 




Entering the Territorial Wilds 19 

forests came with civilization. The coming of the cattle- 
men turned the forests into grazing lands for immense 
herds of animals. Their tramping hoofs cut into the 
surface roots of the trees, which caused numerous 
shoots to spring up. In an incredibly short time, the 
forests were full of a shrubby undergrowth. 

The God of nature gave the pioneers extensive, open 
forests in which to make settlements, because this gave 
them a better chance to protect themselves against the 
attacks of savages- and wild animals. Evidently, thous- 
ands of people have been saved through this protection 
of nature, because men or animals could be seen at 
great distance through the trees. If Mexican lions, bears ; 
panthers, wild cats and diamond rattlers could have 
bad the advantage of the scrubby undergrowth that 
has sprung up in the forests, they would have destroyed 
m.any lives. The warfare of the Indians would have 
been much more destructive to human life if they could 
have had the advantage of the undergrowth in which 
to lie in wait for their unsuspecting victims. Our child- 
ren will never see the magnificent forests of the writ- 
er's childhood days. They are marred and ruined, and 
many of them have been ruthlessly wasted. 

Late in the afternoon, we were walking slowly along 
the trail when the Indian guide pointed to a very large 
panther standing near, watching very demurely and 
v/ithout any signs of fear or anger. He never moved, 
but kept turning his gaze in our direction as we fol- 
lowed the winding path out of sight. The guide remark- 
ed that very few animals would attack a man in the 
daytime, unless they or their young are molested. 

We pitched our camp in a huge cave with its walls 
lined with shelves of rock, which, when covered with 
grass, made excellent beds for Sister and Little Brother. 
The Indian guide and I preferred to cast our lot on 
the floor of the mouth of the cave. 

Before we retired for the night, my boyish curiousity 
induced me to explore the cave. The guide and I used 
lighted pine knots for torches, which gave us all the 
light that was necessary in making the exploration. The 



20 



The Life and Practice of the Indian 





Entering the Territorial Wilds 21 

cavern was indescribably beautiful. A rushing stream 
of water, clear as crystal, penetrated it on one side. 
The stream teemed with fish, which we learned were 
blind, like those in the Mammoth Cave. The stream 
was only about four feet wide, but it had great depth, 
because we could not find its bottom. The rays from 
our torches showed us the formation of stalactites hang- 
ing from the roof of the cavern like frost-covered 
icicles. These were caused by the steady drip of water 
seeping through the .ceiling for long years and years. 
There was a moisture on the walls of the entire cave. 

The next morning, we were awakened by a roaring 
noise. Upon investigation, we found that our cave was 
the daylight home of thousands of bats. We hurriedly 
ate our breakfast and departed. 

The fourth day's journey was the most difficult of 
all, because it led over mountains. We made only ten 
miles that day. H^owever, the trip was very interesting 
to all the members of the party except, perhaps. Little 
Brother, who was too small to take much notice of the 
gorgeous scenes around us. The trail was almost im- 
passable, and there were times when the slightest mis- 
step on a projecting ledge of rock would have meant 
certain death for us. I remember very well how the 
little burro slipped once and broke away a large bould- 
er that boomed down the mountain side. But the little 
donkey understood how to place his feet on the rock 
and get safely back into the path. Sister, for the first 
time during the journey, was thoroughly frightened. 
Little Brother, who was strapped to the burro's back, 
would have been dashed to pieces on the rocks below 
if the burro had not succeeded in regaining a foothold 
in the path. 

We pitched our camp in one of the most desolate 
places I have ever seen. I wondered where we would 
get water for the night, because it did not appear to 
have rained in that region for years. The guide took a 
bucket and went out into a declivity in the mountain 
side, and in a short time he returned with a bucketful 
of the coldest water that we had found during the trip. 



22 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Many journeys through the region had made him fa- 
miliar with the section. 

The night was beautiful. Countless stars shone from 
their pedestals in azure heavens. Silence reigned su- 
preme. Not a sound was perceptible except the gentle 
rustle of leaves, as soft, southern zephyrs blew over to 
bring comfort and cheer to weary mortals. But some 
time after midnight, the owls began to make the night 
doleful with their unmusical notes. Suddenly, the most 
distressing scream that I ever heard rent the night with 
its hideous noise. It was the blood-curdling cry of a 
panther. I was so frightened that I could not sleep during 
the remainder of the night, and I was indeed glad to 
see the dawning of the morning so that we could get 
away from that terrible place. The scream of a panther 
is like that of a woman in deep distress; once heard, 
it will never be forgotten, and one will never want to 
hear it again as long as life lasts. 

On the fourth day, our path led through the beauti- 
ful Wild Horse valley. There was a luxuriant growth 
of tall, rank grass that is known as blue grass. In 
places it was higher than a man's head, but the average 
height was about four feet. 

Late in the afternoon, I saw two of the largest herds 
of deer that I have ever seen from that day to this 
time. One herd numbered about forty or fifty, and the 
other, at least thirty. The first herd was grazing in a 
southerly direction, and the smaller one grazed toward 
the north. 

Wild turkeys were also very numerous. They kept 
up a continual gobbling while they came to roost in 
the trees and in the morning when they flew away. 

It was about ten o'clock when we had crossed the 
Wild Horse Valley, and had come out upon the Washita 
River. We had not thought about a river that we would 
be compelled to cross until the moment we stood upon 
its banks. An Indian never found a body of water an 
obstacle to his passage; our guide immediately plunged 
into the water and swam across to the opposite side 
in a very short time. He seemed very much surprised 



Entering the Territorial Wilds 23 

to discover that Sister and I were not there on the bank 
with him. I guess he felt disgusted because we tender- 
feet could not swim a dangerous river. But we did not 
intend to take any swimming lessons at that time, and 
under the circumstances, I, at least, was violently averse 
to getting water in my windpipe. 

Indian children were trained to swim, as well as ride 
horseback, before they were eight years of age, and, 
at that early age^ they could swim right along with 
adults without any difficulty. The women could swim 
equally as well as the men. 

The Indian guide knew the river, and was acquainted 
with the location of a near-by shoal to which he di- 
rected us. We crossed over and in a short time rejoined 
him, and the journey was resumed. 

It must have been about two o'clock in the afternoon 
when we reached a scope of country that was covered 
with an impenetrable growth of vines and underbrush, 
I could not see more than two or three feet into the 
wild, tangled mass that formed an almost solid wall on 
either side of us. We were going single file, and it was 
all that we could do to get through. 

We had not traveled far in this wilderness when we 
heard a noise similar to that made by a saw being drawn 
through dry wood. The Indian stopped in his tracks 
and drew his gun, keeping his eye fixed in the direc- 
tion of the noise. Suddenly a huge Mexican lion ap- 
peared. Apparently, he was in a very bad humor and 
meant to pick a fight. Our Indian did not blink an eye- 
lash or move a muscle until the lion made an effort to 
spring. Just as the brute crouched, the Indian fired two 
bullets into its brain, and we left it lie where it h<id 
fallen. The guide explained that if he had fired before 
the animal crouched, as it stiffened in death, it would 
have dealt him a fatal blow. But, the bullets entering 
its body when the muscles were tense, there was no 
time to relax and strike out with the cruel paws be- 
fore death came. Do you think, reader, that you could 
wait until a lion crouched before you fired? As for me, 
I would prefer to change the subject. 



24 The Life and Practice of the Indian 




Entering the Territorial Wilds 25 

The Mexican lions of those days were nearly as 
large as, and some of them larger than, the dreaded 
"king of beasts," the African lion. These huge cats were 
more brownish in color than the African lion. At one 
time, there were many of them in this country, but to- 
day, they are never seen in the State. I am glad that 
the only remaining ones are behind the bars. 

We had not proceeded far on the trail after the en- 
counter with the lion, when suddenly we saw some- 
thing about fifty yards off that resembled four large, 
yellow leaves. Upon closer inspection, I saw that these 
"leaves" were the ears of two large Mexican lions. They 
rose slowly from the ground. As they did so, the Indian 
drew his gun and watched them intently for several 
seconds. The animals kept their blazing eyes fixed on 
us, and giving vent to a terrific roar that almost shook 
the ground, they turned about and stalked away. I was 
impressed with the guide's action in this instance. I had 
expected him to fire, and in my boy-mind I was com- 
pletely mystified because he had allowed those vicious 
beasts to get away without molesting them. But I learn- 
ed afterwards, that if he had fired and wounded one 
of the animals, both would have attacked us and we 
vv^ould not have had- much chance to kill them; but 
by waiting for them to attack, we were given a better 
chance because one would have waited for the other 
to lead in the onset. The one attacking first could have 
been killed when within good range ; then, the other 
would have gone away or come forward cautiously, and 
we could have had the advantage again. Hence, our 
guide knew what he was doing that day, and he did 
the only safe thing for him to do under the circum 
stances. 

We were about two and a half miles from the Indian 
camp that was to be the end of our journey — for at 
least several days. The war-cries of the blood-thirsty 
Indians could be plainly heard, but we were not afraid, 
because we trusted in our Indian guide to protect us. 
Indeed, our trust was not misplaced. 



CHAPTER TWO 

In the Camp of the Chickasaws 

We were about a fourth of a mile from the Indian 
village, when we were met by two Indian braves. They 
talked with the guide for some minutes, and then turn- 
ed and accompanied us. 

When we entered the camp, the only persons in sight 
were a group of aged squaws. These were left on 
guard, the yelling and singing warriors whom we had 
heard having disappeared as though the earth had 
swallowed them. We had gone but a few paces how- 
ever, when the entire camp was swarming with Indian 
braves in war-like formation. They poured from the 
tepees like bees from their hive. They were armed with 
every conceivable make of weapon that was in exist- 
ence at that time. They ruslhed to the center of the 
camp, brandishing their six-shooters, bows and arrows, 
tomahawks, and huge knives made from saw blades. 
There were a few who carried the "cap and ball" re- 
volvers of such common use in those days. 

This war-like demonstration filled my heart with fear, 
because I believed that they intended to kill us. But 
the Indian guide who had protected us up to this time 
went forward and spoke a few words to the Chief. I 
noticed with untold relief that he smiled, and then the 
entire company of Indians seemed pleased, and began 
to disperse into the different parts of the camp. 

In a short while, the guide returned to us and told 
Sister not to be afraid, because the Indians would not 
do us any harm, but would treat us kindly and protect 
us while in their camp, whether our stay were long or 
short. This was exceedingly comforting news to us, to 
me especially, because I thought a lot of my scalp. 

I shall appreciate that guide of ours as long as my 
life lasts. It would afford me real pleasure to have him 
for a guest in my home. I should like for him to be 
dressed in his buckskin and blanket, and carry his six- 
shooter and bow and arrow, just as he appeared when 

(26) 



In the Camp of the Chickasaws 27 

I first saw him. And he should have the first place in 
our home and in our consideration. 

Some squaws walked up to the burro and untied 
Little Brother. Of course, I misunderstood their act, 
thinking that he would be killed. I began to cry bitter- 
ly. Then an old Indian mother came to me and, put- 
ting her arms around me, tried to assure me that no 
harm would come to us. I was consoled, somewhat, by 
her manner, for I did not understand anything that she 
said. The fact is, though a savage, she was endowed 
with tender, maternal instincts that did not impress me 
then as it does now. 

One of the women took Little Brother into a tepee 
and motioned Sister and me to follow. Little Brother 
became the center of attraction. Many Indian children 
of all sizes and ages gathered around him. All of them 
seemed to be delighted with the novelty of the "Pale- 
face" child. 

I found to my great surprise that the camp teemed 
with children. When we had entered the camp there 
was not a one in sight. It must be said to the credit 
of the savage Indian that he trained his children to 
obey orders. One rule was that children should not ap- 
pear when company was around, unless they had a 
special invitation to do so. Parents of today can learn 
a very good lesson from the heathen Indian of fifty years 
ago. 

In a short while after we had left the tepee, an In- 
dian woman came out and built a small fire. Soon an- 
other woman appeared, and another and another, until 
there were nearly a hundred fires burning in the camp. 
The women roasted meat on the fires. According to 
their custom, they cooked but twice a day — early in the 
morning and late in the afternoon a little before sun- 
down. When the meat was ready to serve, an Indian 
woman gave us all and more than we could eat. They 
showed us no little kindness. 

Night came on. I began to wonder where we would 
sleep. We had not been invited to remain through the 
night with an Indian family. Nor was such an invita- 



28 The Life and Practice of the Indian 




In the Camp of the Chickasaws 29 

tion forth-coming; for when the Indians got ready to 
retire, they entered their tepees without a word about 
where we would sleep or where we could. It appeared 
to us that they did not have any particular care where 
we would go. I felt decidedly lonesome. But "wisdom 
was ever the better part of valor" ; and wisdom ad- 
vised me to keep quiet. We slept on the ground inside 
the camp that night. 

In our ignorance-, we did not know that we would 
have been perfectly welcome with any family in the 
camp. The Indians at that time had not learned the pro- 
prieties. Because they had not scalped or tortured us, 
but had fed us well, they expected us to make our- 
selves at home. They had performed all the rites of 
friendliness. They had not had the opportunity of read- 
ing "Lord Chesterfield's Letters to His Son," which 
alarming fact accounted largely for careless etiquette 
and lack of good manners. Through our self-respect and 
anxiety for our scalps, we meekly allowed the matter 
to pass unnoticed. 

The joyous matings of multitudes of song birds filled 
our hearts with cheer when we awoke in an Indian 
camp a hundred and fifty miles from civilization. 

Hunger was our most pressing concern. I was so near- 
ly starved that I forgot about the misery that my brass- 
toed boots had caused me on the trail. Indeed I was 
anxious to get into them and proceed to get something 
behind the belt. Sister endured the fast as long as pos- 
sible, and then threw Chesterfieldianism to the winds 
and hunted up the guide. She asked if there were any 
meat in the camp to be had. Without even grunting or 
making any other sign, he turned and went into a tepee 
that seemed to be used as a sort of larder. He came 
out with a deer ham. Sister roasted part of it over the 
fire. We proceeded to show our very great apprecia- 
tion by eating it most ravenously. I will never forget 
that delicious breakfast. 

A short time after breakfast, the guide came to us 
and asked Sister how long we were going to stay in 
the camp. She replied that she could not tell definitely. 



30 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

but perhaps two or three days. The Indian turned and 
walked away without any explanation. 

Indians were always a little short on talk until they 
became civilized. Nowadays, they can argue for hours 
on politics or religion and imitate a white man almost 
to a "t" in seeming never to run out of talk and very 
successfully avoiding saying anything during the time 
he talks. They are very long on the argument, but very 
short on the principle, and still shorter on the practice. 
And they keep getting civilized more and more. 

The Indians returned about three o'clock in the af- 
ternoon with several large bundles of reeds to be used 
in making a tepee. They stopped under the shade of a 
great oak and called to the Indians in the camp. About 
fifty men responded. 

I was very much interested in the construction and 
arrangement of the tepee. The bundles of grass that 
had been brought in were plaited into sections like 
those of a tent. When the sections had been fitted to- 
gether, the Indians proceeded to make the tepee water- 
proof. Rich pine knots were set on fire and the drip- 
ping rosin collected in a vessel. The rosin was then 
applied to all parts of the tepee, making it absolutely 
waterproof. 

The grass used in the tepees grew very tall, having 
a rather large body and long, broad leaves. It was 
found along river banks, valleys, lakes and swampy 
places. There is not a trace of such a species of grass 
in Oklahoma nowadays. Like the wild animals, it also 
disappeared with the coming of civilization. History 
shows that such a species of grass seems to be indi- 
genous in unsettled lands. An old Indian regards the 
disappearance of the grass in Oklahoma with supersti- 
tious awe and refuses to break his silence regarding 
the matter. 

Each tepee was large enough to accommodate one 
family. They were arranged close together in a circular 
form around the open space in the camp. The entire 
camp covered an acre or so of ground. 

In a miraculously short time, the tepee under con- 



In the Camp of the Chickasaws 31 

struction was finished, including the platform in the 
center with the funnel-shaped hollow for a small fire. 
The guide came to Sister and said that the tepee was 
for our use as long as we stayed in the camp. 

Sister and I borrowed knives from the Indian women 
and w^ent out into the timber and cut down some blue 
grass. Out of this we made some excellent beds in the 
tepee. Not any bed that I have ever slept in from that 
day to this was half as luxurious and restful as that 
grass bed in the Indian tepee forty years ago. Animal 
skins as bed clothing cannot be excelled. 

Our tepee was located in the outskirts of the camp. 
From the day it was finished until we left the place 
for the Seminole country, Indian women visited us ev- 
ery day. They were exceedingly good, making inquiry 
about our needs and bestowing freely everything that 
it was in their power to supply. They provided all kinds 
of meats from day to day. 

I can truthfully say that many of these Indian women 
knew the art of roasting meat more perfectly than we 
do today. One of the most delicious dishes that they 
prepared was terrapin. They put a live terrapin in a 
small fire ; every time he crawled out they poked him 
back into the fire with a stick. By the time he was 
dead, he was ready for the king's table. And then it 
was very convenient to serve the terrapin, for he furn- 
ished his own platter. The bottom shell was cut off 
with a hunting-knife and the meat was eaten out of 
the top shell. Was that terrapin good?. Well, once tasted 
it will never be forgotten. 

Fish were never cleaned or dressed for cooking. They 
were thrown into the fire while they were alive and 
roasted whole "with the hair on." 

Modern tourists do not know anything about the 
pleasures and enjoyments of the vacation that I had in 
that Chickasaw camp. The only thing that we lacked 
to make our joy complete was a little Ford and the ac- 
companying vocabulary of cuss-words. But, of course, 
not knowing anything about either in that remote time, 
we did not miss them. 



32 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

The Indians are the original corn-eaters of the world. 
I am of the opinion that corn bread has a more effi- 
cacious civilizing power than wheat bread. During the 
last World War, Uncle Sam enlisted many Indian citi- 
zens to help civilize the original wheat-eaters of the 
German Empire. 

Indian corn made wonderful crops. The ground was 
worked with crude wooden hoes, or with the old-fash- 
ioned "eye hoes" that had been taken during raids on 
white settlers. Not having mills to grind it, the Indians 
prepared the hard, flinty grain by pestling it in rock 
or wooden troughs. Then it looked more like our 
"chops" than anything else to which I can compare it. 
It was boiled in a huge pot and allowed to stand until 
it soured. Missionaries will tell you that it was a very 
nutritious and wholesome dish. I believe that if it were 
eaten today, and if we lived more out-of-doors than we 
do at the present time, we would be a healthier, strong- 
er and happier people. 

It will hardly be questioned by any thinking person 
that the conveniences and protection of modern civiliza- 
tion are causing the rapid depreciation of all races of 
people; they are particularly hard on the Indian race. 
From this fact can be seen the reason why so many 
Indians are succumbing to the ravages of tuberculosis. 

I am sure that we have lost and not gained in aban- 
doning the use of Soffaka corn. 

Every steel implement that was used by the Indians 
was fashioned by the same method. Articles of steel, 
pilfered from white settlers, constituted the metal part 
of the implements. A knife, saw-blade, or any other 
instrument was ground into the desired form on a rock 
similar to our grindstone. After this process came the- 
business of making a handle. The bones from the body 
of a freshly-slain deer were boiled until very soft. From 
these a piece was selected, then shaped, and fitted to 
the blade. After much polishing and, in time, the drying 
of the bone, the instrument had a very durable handle. 

The bow and arrow was one of the most valuable and 
dangerous weapons produced by the Redmen. It is a 



In the Camp of the Chickasaws 33 

remarkable fact that an Indian could shoot an arrow 
a very long distance straight to the mark. By elevating 
the aim, an arrow was made to carry a surprisingly 
great distance and to inflict dire damage on the man 
or beast upon whom it happened to descend. An Indian 
could shoot an arrow much more accurately than he 
could a rifle. 

The art of making bows and arrows was mastered 
through long years of patient experience, and was 
eventually brought to a very high degree of perfection. 
The Indian worker carefully selected his wood from 
burr oak, bois d'arc, or hickory. The wood was drawn 
through the fire a great many times to temper it. The 
bow was made from the outside part of the wood, and 
the arrow from the heart of it. All bows were made ac- 
cording to an accurate measurement, so that they were 
uniform in length and shape. After careful shaping of 
the bow, it was put through a seasoning process until it 
was as hard as steel, and so wonderfully resilient that 
it sent an arrow singing on its mission of death to a 
great distance. After the seasoning process, both bow 
and arrow were polished perfectly smooth. Then came 
the making of a string that would be strong enough 
to hold intact against the vigorous rebound of the bow. 
A string of tanned buckskin about half an inch wide 
was softened in hot water and then rolled as tightly 
as it could be compacted. Then it was allowed to dry 
before it was secured to the bow. It was so tough that 
it seemed almost like a steel spring; it could sustain a 
very heavy weight and hurl an arrow with terrific 
force. 

In making the wonderful flint rock arrowhead, the 
first thing to be done was to secure a pure flint rock — 
the larger the better, for the needs of the Indian. The 
rock was heated red hot. Then the arrow-maker dipped 
his finger in cold water and allowed drops to fall on 
the rock wherever he wanted it to shale off. When the 
handle and the edge were shaped, then came the ted- 
ious task of polishing. The instrument used for that 
purpose was the small bone from the foreleg of a deer. 



34 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

When the head was finished, it was fitted to the arrow 
shaft previously made from heart-wood. 

When it is remembered that all arrowheads, large or 
small, were made by the slow method of letting single 
drops of water fall on the flint, it will be readily under- 
stood that many months were required to make each 
head. This fact explains the strange conduct of Indian 
braves on the battlefield. They have rushed out in 
plain view of the enemy, notwithstanding the most dis- 
astrous rifle fire, in order to secure an arrow that had 
lodged in the body of a victim. After the battle, in the 
darkness of the night they have stolen out in search 
of arrows that had missed the mark and gone astray. 
Great value was attached to arrowheads because of 
the infinite amount of time and patience expended in 
making them. 

I would not leave with my readers the impression 
that all Indians were alike skillful in arts and crafts. 
Just as we find men peculiarly fitted for various trades 
today, so was it then. Every workman had his speciali- 
ty. Some made bows and arrows, others made knives, 
and still others made arrowheads. There were those 
who were kept busy making utensils of one kind or 
another, or fashioning leggings with bead ornaments. 
Everybody worked in harmony, and there was never a 
strike in any department of labor. 

Wooden buckets were made in the following manner: 
a block of wood was sawed perfectly square on each 
end and a red-hot iron was used to burn out one end 
of the block until it had the desired capacity. The 
bucket was polished with glass, inside and out, until 
it was very smooth. Then the bucket was ready for use. 
Much time and patience went into the making of a 
bucket. 

A skill almost like that of genius was displayed in 
the making of beads. The women in particular were 
adepts at this craft. There were various kinds of beads, 
the difference being according to the purpose for which 
they were to be used. One kind was made from the 
heart wood of timbers. The beads were cut and shaped 



In the Camp of the ChIckasaws 35 

into the desired size, and then split open and grooved 
with a sharp knife. They were cemented together again 
with a glue made of rosin that had been boiled for six 
or eight hours. Smaller beads were made from dog- 
wood and sumac stems. After the process of shaping, 
the pith was removed to allow for passing the string 
through. They were then thrown into a pot of dye. 
Most dyes were obtained from the inner bark of trees. 
The tiny beads on moccasins were made of rosin mixed 
with powdered stone. The mixture was moulded 
around a wire, and then the beads were cut off one at 
a time. The wire was drawn out and the beads were 
ready for the needle-workers. 

It quite passes my knowledge how the Indian women 
obtained so many valuable secrets of the medicinal 
power of plants. A few women in every tribe were 
recognized as physicians, and when there was sickness, 
they were always consulted just as our enlightened 
medicos are today. 

Just a few days before our departure from the 
Chickasaw camp, I witnessed one of the saddest inci- 
dents of my life. It was in the afternoon of a very 
warm, bright day. Objects could be seen at a great 
distance through the forest and to a very great height 
in the skies. I was looking upward when I happened 
to see a huge bird soaring high in the heavens. Sud- 
denly he began to descend, and when within about a 
hundred feet of the ground, he made a quick move- 
ment and with folded wings shot with the rapidity of 
lightning directly toward the earth. To my horror, 
he seized an Indian baby in his talons. The eagle 
turned his eye to the sun and soared awaj' with the 
infant which was never seen again. I have never 
heard such lamenting as was indulged in by lirdian 
women that day. 

The most interesting event that I witnessed during 
our stay in the Chickasaw camp was a fight between 
an Indian brave and a grizzly bear. The Indian was 
sleeping outside his tepee, for the July weather was 
hot and sultry. During the night, the bear came. 



S& The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Fortunately, the Indian had gone to sleep with a long 
knife that he carried in a leather scabbard buckled 
around him. When the bear attacked, the sleeping 
savage drew the knife almost instinctively and went to 
work with it as only a primitive knife-man could use 
a steel blade for defense. 

The fight caused a great disturbance in the camp. 
Sister, Little Brother and I were awakened by "the noise 
of battle" and the doleful lamentations of the Indian 
women, mingled with the noisy encouragement of 
hundreds of braves who stood by, but for some reason 
known only to themselves, refused to assist the Indian 
during the fight. The struggle was soon over and Bruin 
lay dead. The Indian was not seriously hurt. There 
was nothing left on him in the way of clothes except a 
few tatters, and they were very stringy and very scant. 
His skin had undergone the same treatment as the 
clothes; but the first misfortune was considered the 
?nore serious of the two, because the skin would heal of 
itself, and garments had to be re-made. 

I do not remember the exact number of days we spent 
in the Chickasaw camp. But the time came when Sister 
decided to go on to the Seminole Nation. The question 
of a reliable guide came under consideration. She ap- 
pealed to the aged, Chickasaw, who was of A-1 ranking 
in the Secret Service organization of the times, and 
consequently a past master of the trail. 

The different tribes maintained a very efficient Sec- 
ret Service systeni; their spies penetrated all that sec- 
tion of country that was contiguous to the territory of 
other tribes, and they kept the home camp accurately 
informed about the movements of clans that were 
friendly, and, of course, those that were in war-like ac- 
tivity were watched closely. Each tribe had several 
bvaves who could be trusted to give reliable information 
regarding the movements of friends or foes. These 
men knew the shortest and best routes to all other In- 
dian camps. 

The wild Indian was unlike the civilized Indian in 
that he would never make a camp along river courses 



In the Camp of the Chickasaws 37 

or in valleys, but always on some hill or mountain that 
gave him a commanding view of all the surrounding 
country. This was to enable him to see an enemy a 
long time before those who sought him could get in 
reach and give him a fight. Camps were never built 
in forests, but near some forest that teemed with wild 
game. 

Too, the civilized Indians would build their camps in 
one place and hundreds would occupy a very small area 
of ground ; but the wild Indians had many small camps 
that were located so near each other that the light of 
the torch could be seen, whenever the occasion re- 
quired, and despite the fact that they were not in one 
body, it was possible for them to mobilize in a very 
short time. 



CHAPTER III 
Settling in the Seminole Nation 

The first thing that was necessary in making the long 
journey of nearly one hundred miles to the Seminole 
country was the preparation of sufficient food to last 
during the trip and Sister had all the help and assistance 
from the women of the camp that they could bestow. 
An abundance of cooked meats of different kinds and plen- 
ty of Soffaka corn was prepared, and when we told the 
Indian Guide that we were ready to make the trip he sur- 
prised us by offering his services, voluntarily, to guide us 
to the end of our journey, and it is needless to say that 
we were overjoyed when he made the proposal. 

The morning of departure arose fair and bright. 
Not a cloud was to be seen and gentle zepher breezes, 
stirring the dense foliage of the luxuriant forests, wafted 
the sweet odors of wild violets, for-get-me-nots, and the 
wild rose until we felt that all the world was burdened 
with sweet fragrance. It was indeed exhilarating to 
the sense of smell, and is retained as one of the most 
delightful memories of that past day. 

The Guide brought the burro to our tepee, and while 
he was busy loading him with our provisions and mak- 
ing room on his back for brother, I had a demonstration 
of the generous kindness and sincere friendship and 
appreciation of those Indians that was surprising in 
the extreme. It also revealed the fact that they were 
as capable of entertaining human virtues and exercising 
merciful consideration as any people in the world, and 
all that was necessary to bring about their redemption 
from heathenism was the right kind of instruction and 
religious training, hence I am not astonished at the 
wonderful progress that has been achieved by the In- 
dian during the last fifty years. 

A great many Indian women came out to bid us fare- 
well and wish us peace and safety on the perilous jour- 
ney. And they showed their sincere love for us as 
truly as a tender-hearted, civilized women could show 

(38) 



z_ . __ 



Settling In the Seminole Nation 39 

it. They shed tears of regret and lamented the fact 
that we were about to leave them forever, and they 
would see our faces no more. We wept with them. We 
had learned to love those simple, sincere heathens. 
They were God's misguided, abused and misunderstood 
people. They had not the supreme advantage and 
blessings of a noble civilization, and they should not 
have been treated like beasts of the field, "made to be 
taken and destroyed." 

Women gave Sister- several strands of artfully made 
beads that had been formed with great skill from the 
heart of many different kinds of wood, and arranged in 
the strands so as to preserve color harmony to a re- 
markable degree, and I have never yet learned the sec- 
ret of how they succeeded in making such beautiful 
things out of wood. The beads were made by the old 
Squaws and I suppose that it required a great deal of 
natural talent as well as long practice to learn how to 
make them. But they were artists in that line, and the 
genius exhibited was wonderful. 

Our course lay in a Northeastern direction and about 
ten o'clock in the morning we emerged from the forest 
and came into a rolling prairie country near where the 
town of Wynnewood now stands. The only semblance 
of a forest growth that we saw that day were small 
elms that grew along the banks of ravines, or occasion- 
ally a diminutive mesquite bush. It was lonely and 
caused my mind to revert to the land of the South 
from whence we came, and I could not refrain from 
weeping when I thought of the kind hearted, the rough 
Texas Rangers and the soldiers, who occupied the Mili- 
tary Posts near "Dead Man's Crossing" and the magnifi- 
cent Texas prairies, that I then thought would never 
again be seen by me. 

We traveled about twenty miles the first day and 
pitched our camp at the foothills of a small mountain 
known to the Indians in those days as "Lookout Moun- 
tain." The sun disappeared in the western sky and the 
heavens were veiled with darkness. The evening star, 
beam.ing in the heavens, seemed to descend to give us 



40 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

more light as the night deepened. We ate our lunch 
without light or fire, and providing beds that were 
made from a rank sage grass that grew about four feet 
high, we retired for the night. 

I was lying on my back watching the countless stars 
that formed the "milky way" and wondering what they 
were up there in the sky and why the Great God had 
made them, when suddenly I heard the most unearthly 
and gruesome yelling that I ever heard, and of course 
Sister and I were not slow about getting up, but the 
guide informed us that the noise was made by coyotes, 
a small wolf that was harmless, and our fears were par- 
tially allayed. He said that there were very few in the 
drove but I thought, judging from the noise that they 
made, that they must have covered a thousand acres of 
ground. Sister and the Indian slept, but I lay awake 
and kept in readiness to run or die with my eyes open 
and my "boots on." And the cowardly little beasts 
came so near during the night that I could hear them 
snapping their teeth, and it was a trying, nerve-racking 
experience for me to keep still and remain quiet, but 
if I had moved they would have scampered away in 
great fright. However I did not know that at the time, 
and I did not intend to take any further risks. 

But another day finally dawned and I arose and went 
to the mountain top to look over the country. Where is 
the boy who would not climb a thousand feet into the 
air to get a view of the countryside? 

The Indians sometime in the past had built a tower 
about fifteen or twenty feet high on the top of this 
mountain for a lookout and that was the reason the 
mountain was given the name that it bore at that time. 
It was indeed an exhilarating scene that was presented 
to my view when I looked around over the country from 
the top of the tower. I could see objects many miles 
away and it was a scene worthy of any painter's canvas 
to watch the scampering coyotes and the graceful, gold- 
en-coated deer leisurely galloping across the prairie, or 
the beautiful spotted fawns running like the wind in 
their gambols. 



Settling In the Seminole Nation 



41 




42 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

But all nature seemed to be in harmony with the 
scenes that I have mentioned in the foregoing para- 
graph. The bosom of the wide, rolling prairie was 
aflame with the light of the morning sun, and flowers 
of every shape, kind and fragrance were visible from 
every direction. Grass grew luxuriously on the moun- 
tain side where the feet of man had never trod, and 
where the hoofs of beasts never marred its virgin glory. 

We ate our lunch and immediately started on a jour- 
ney that was destined to be exceedingly fatiguing and 
disagreeable because of the intense heat. I previously 
remarked that the day dawned fair and bright. The 
skies were cloudless and the heat in the early morning 
was almost scorching which was very unusual for this 
country. The climate of Oklahoma in those days was 
more ideal, heathful and dry than it is today. I cannot 
account for the change except for the fact that rains 
like honey bees follow civilization. It used to be a say- 
ing among the wild Indians that when "Bees made their 
appearance that the White man was coming" and they 
would begin to get ready to meet him and drive him 
out of the country if it was possible. 

But before proceeding further with this part of my 
narrative, I will remark in passing that we had now 
penetrated about two hundred miles into the Territory 
without seeing any persons except Indians and bandits. 

We had been exposed to great danger from wild 
beasts. Bears, panthers, catamounts and Mexican lions 
had disputed our way, but we had prevailed over them 
and had made our escape from the jaws of death with- 
out being harmed, and I cannot refrain from expressing 
my grateful thanks to an AllWise God for His protec- 
tion and guidance during those eventful, perilous and 
lonesome days. 

But coming back to my story, a peculiarly cool and 
refreshing breeze would occasionally fan our hot, per- 
spiring faces, and we moved forward on our weary, dus- 
ty way with a renewed strength and rejuvination of 
spirit. It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, 
however that we noticed the faint appearance of the 



Settling In the Seminole Nation 43 

storm that the sultry morning had portended. The 
storm-cloud had the appearance of huge volumes of 
smoke in the far-away, dim distance, and occasional 
rumblings of deep-throated thunder ^^uld be heard, 
like the booming of great guns far-away. Sheet light- 
ning would flare up now and then, illummatmg the 
blackness of the cloud, like rockets in the night. 

Our hearts were filled with fear and awe as we 
watched the approaching storm. We were on an open 
prairie and deprived of the natural protection of a ra- 
vine, ledge of rock or a hill, and you can imagme our 
serious situation as well as the feelmgs of alarm that 
surged in our hearts. But the Indian guide had wit- 
nessed before such demonstrations of an outraged na- 
ture and knew what to do in such circumstances. He 
unrolled the pack that was carried by the burro and 
when the storm broke we covered our bodies with the 
skins of animals that were used for beds, lying prone 
on the ground, with our faces to the earth, we patiently 
waited for the storm to pass. The rain fell m torrents 
and the hail descended upon our skin covermgs with 
terrific force It was an hour of terror and trouble and 
anxiety for us. I had never witnessed such a thing in 
life and hope that it will never be my experience agam 
in this world. 

But with the passing of the storm a great calm lell 
over the world, and the crimson rays of the settmg sun 
bespangled the drenched prairie with ermine hues, min- 
gled with the colorings of silver and gold. It was a 
scene of indescribable beauty and grandeur. It made 
the heart stir with sublime emotions that a wealth oi 
adventure would be too feeble to express. 

We were fortunate, however, in finding a lone oaR 
tree that had stood sentinel over the prairie waste thru 
past years, and we pitched our camp under its ample 
boughs for the night. The Guide climbed the tree and 
broke away some dead limbs to be used for a fire, but 
the supply was so limited that we could not get enough 
heat from it to keep us warm, and it goes without say- 
ing that we spent a very miserable night. Our clothmg 



44 



The Life and Practice of the Indian 





P5 
a 




Settling In the Seminole Nation 45 

was wet and we were drenched to the skin with water 
that was almost ice-cold, Oh! we welcomed the dawning 
of another day and the warmth of the risen sun. 

We started on our journey very early hoping to reach 
another Chickasaw camp before nightfall. The distance 
that we had to travel to reach the camp was fifteen 
or twenty miles, and traveling over the country on foot 
was slow and tiresome, but we were very anxious to get 
to the camp, hence we had made greater haste than 
usual. 

It was about nine o'clock when we were attacked by 
six large timber wolves. They are much more danger- 
ous than the little coyote and when they are hungry 
one may expect to have to fight them. We were ap- 
proaching the foot-hills and were just entering the tim- 
ber when the wolves, at about the distance of one hun- 
dred feet, charged us. The Indian squared himself 
in front of the wolves and drawing his six shooter, told 
Sister to do likewise, and when the animals were within 
twenty or thirty feet of u?, the Indian and Sister began 
firing. They were good shots and made every bullet 
count, and in a very short time several dead wolves 
were lying on the ground, and the remaining members 
of tie pack were scampering away, some of them 
Vv'ounded. But it was an exciting time while it lasted 
and when the shooting was over I crawled from under 
the burro where I had taken refuge, and was ready for 
the jounrey. 

The Chickasaw camp was located on the Canadian river, 
and shortly after the fight with the wolves we found a 
trail that was used by the Chickasaws in going to Texas. 
The trail led to a crossing on the Red river that was 
known then by the name of Black Bull Crossing, and we 
entered the camp a short while before sundown. They 
gave us the same sort of reception that we received in 
the first camp, but after some parley with the Guide 
they treated us very kindly and with great deference,, 
and made us feel that we would not be molested by 
them during our stay in their midst. 

It was in this camp that I witnessed my first war 



46 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

ll,".',!; ^"'' u* T'^f ." '""*'"« impression on my mind. 
About one hundred braves took part in it. They were 
decorated with crowns for their heads, paint of the 
colors of red and green on their bodies ^ith patches of 
fea hers taken from the wings of turkeys. The paint 

linL ^ft "' Y"' '"?''<' ^™'" *^ bark of different 
kinds of trees. A number of them also wore belts that 
were decorated with long hair and the reader can 
correctly guess at once that it was human hair taken 
from crowns of murdered whites or enemy Indians that 
those rascals had killed in battle. The orgies were 
weird and hideous. They were more like demons Than 
human bemgs, and it requires a very long stretch with a 
serious strain of the imagination for a person who 
never witnessed the terrible exercises of the war da^e 
to conceive of its heinousness and inhuman dmonstrl! 
tion. The dancers were clad in breech clouts made 

1T» f'^' t:;'' ''"''■ '^''"' ^"'l «"^y ^ore moccasins 
made from the same material. Their moccasins were 
beautifully ornamented with beads of different ^zes 

the chiert t?V;''V/ i"-^ ^'"''^ -^^ dreLeV ke 
the chief of the tribe with the exception that the chief 

wore crowns extravagantly ornamented with beads of 

gorgeous hue and extending from his shoulders to h°s 

waist The chief of the tribe was always dressed so 

of 'the tribe"' h "' tJ'r '?*''' ''°^ -^ other membe? 
ot the tribe, hence the leader in the dance wore stream- 
ers of feathers that hung down the temples, while the 
chief wore one single streamer of feathers that hung 
down his back and that reached nearly to the ground 
Indian women who took part in the war dance wore 
shirts that parted down each hip on the side but mod 
ern Indian women wore blankets around their waists 
and shoulders, and moccasins on their feet 8^11 
women who took part in the dance wore terrapin shells 
partly filled with hard gravel on their ankles and a 

"/ '^j 'r.^' ""''^^" ^^^' *« stream loo :yT„%he 
wind^ Indeed it was a picturesque sight, but one in 
which no white man could take any pleasure in that 
day, because of the terrible events that the dance al 



I 



Settling In the Seminole Nation 47 

ways foretokened. I almost shudder when I think of 
the "War Dance" and the awful miseries, tortures and 
massacres that it introduced into the experience of white 
people of that day. I am glad to know it is past to nev- 
er be revived among the Indians of this enlightened 

^^But before I leave this part of the subject it would 
be incomplete if I were to omit a description of the 
preparations for the war dance. The evening before 
they brought wood from a distance and placed it m tne 
opening of their Tepees. Two stakes with forks on one 
end were driven in the ground, and a horizontal pole 
with each end in the forks was secured to them, and 
in about one hour before the dance they built a big 
fire under the pole. The leader of the dance then went 
into a teepee and brought out a large sack made o± 
grass filled with human scalps taken from heads ot 
men, women and children, even the heads of infants 
The wild Indian never knew what mercy or humaneness 
meant, hence he treated alike all classes that fell mto 
his brutal clutches. His rule was to torture all captives 
until they died, and then remove their scalps to be ex- 
hibited as tokens of his wonderful prowess and bravery 
in the future. Hence scalps taken from the crowns o± 
persons killed in past generations by the forefathers 
were used in all the war dances. 

The symbolism of the war dance was kept a secret 
that was sacredly guarded by the Indians, in memory 
of their departed ancestors whom they thought were 
basking in the glory of the "Happy Hunting Ground,' 
and which was believed in by all Indians. 

But poor, deluded souls! I am sure that their dis- 
appointment is great for the reason that animals of for- 
est and field never go to that awful place. God's am-- 
mal creation is not endowed with immortality. They 
have no promise of an eternal future, but being gui^^ed 
solely by instinct they perish at death in their own dust. 
But the savage races of men are human beings— God s 
immortal creatures and that which was intended to be 
the greatest blessing that can come to men, viz; salva- 



48 



The Life and Practice of the Indian 




le^eIentl.v salute the fire in honor of its consuming nature. 



Settling In the Seminole Nation 49 

tion from sin has been lost to millions of irresponsible 
heathens, hence it has turned out to be their greatest 
curse, and I feel impressed with the stupendous impor- 
tance and the awful responsibility of giving the Gospel 
of Christ to all the Nations, races and tribes of men that 
dwell under the sun. 

The scalps were hung on the pole and the braves and 
squaws would reverently salute the fire in honor of its 
consuming nature.- They attended these myglyphics 
with high leaps into the air and ear-splitting yells. It 
was enough to make the dead stir in their graves. 

During the periods of war among the Indians they 
could not discern between right and wrong. They 
danced around the fire believing that they could be 
identified with its consuming nature, and thus more ef- 
fectively destroy those upon whom they made war. 
They believed also that it made them terrible to their 
enemies and invincible in the fray, hence the Indian 
would not engage an enemy in a fight until he had 
indulged extensively in those furious orgies and contor- 
tions of madness around the fire in the war dance. 
It usually lasted about eight or ten days. But that did 
not end the exercise of the warrior, because it wa.'^ an 
established custom for them to go thru the performances 
of the dance for twelve hours after the protracted part 
of it was over in order to get his heart and mind cen- 
tered and immovably upon the accomplishment of his 
purpose, and persons who were forced to fight them 
will testify that they were more like cunning beasts, 
and as daring as it was possible for men or beasts to 
be during the conflict, hence it was next to impossible to 
capture an Indian warrior alive. H,e would fight to 
win the victory until he saw that his cause was hope- 
less then he would change his tactics and fight in an 
effort to escape the victors, but if he failed he would 
try to make the enemy kill him. But strange to say 
very few Indians ever committed suicide. 

History records a few instances where an Indian lov- 
er was refused the hand of his sweetheart by the chief 
or the girls parents, and the twain made a suicide com- 



50 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

pact and died by their own hands rather than live apart 
from each other. But this never occurred except in 
cases of lovers in different tribes, because the parents 
arranged for the marriage of their children at a very 
tender age. I personally know of one instance of the 
marriage of an Indian girl at the age of twelve years, 
and she was a mother in the early months of her four- 
teenth year. But to illustrate the subject of suicide 
among the early Indians in America I will relate this 
case as it was told to me by an aged resident of Ash- 
ville, N. C. 

A towering ledge of rock, over-looking the French 
Broad river a short distance from Ashville is known as 
Lovers Leap. At the present time enterprising parties 
has erected a summer resort and the hotel is called 
Lovers Leap Hotel. The story is very intere'^ting to me. 
A young brave of a different tribe had been captured 
by warriors of the enemy and he was taken to their 
camp, and for some reason his life was spared. He fell 
in love with an Indian maid and asked for her in mar- 
riage, but his request was refused, because he would 
not sever his relations with his tribe and his allegiance 
to the Chief of his own tribe, hence the young people 
were denied the rights of matrimony and entered into 
a suicide pact, stole away to "Lovers Leap," and lock- 
ing their arms around each other they jumped to their 
death on the ragged rocks that nestled in the bosom of 
America's most beautiful river, the French Broad. The 
chief of the tribe to which the girl belonged gave it the 
name in memory of their tragic death. 

It is a very peculiar fact that tho the Wild Indians 
cared less for human life, his own not excepted, than 
any race of people in the history of the world. Still, 
he would usually endure the most awful suffering rather 
than take his life, but suicide and insanity is very rare 
among heathen people of the present time, and seem 
to be the products of civilization. 

The reader would like to know what kind of feeb'ngs 
surged in our hearts while we were looking upon the 
Indians in the war dance. We were greatly alarmed 



Settling In the Seminole Natjon 







< 



52 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

and all three cried bitterly, because we believed thai 
they would finally kill us. Evidently some pquaws saw 
us in tears and knowing the cause of our sorrow, they 
came to our teepee and talked with us in broken En- 
glish, assuring us that we would not be harmed. We 
were comforted but spent another sleepless night, and 
were destined to sustain the most stinging misfortune of 
our journey, with the dawning of another day. I 
relate it with sadness in my heart even at this late day. 

Our Indian guide came to us at the early morning 
hour and began making preparations for his return trip. 
I will never forget the loneliness that I experienced at 
that time. We had learned to trust the guide unre- 
servedly and it broke our hearts to think of being separ- 
ated from him. It was thru his protection that we 
had been saved and directed to our present location. 
He had risked his life without pay or glory and had 
trudged many weary miles simply to accomm.odate and 
help us. He did this voluntarily and did not ask in 
return for that noble service even the gratitude of our 
hearts, but you can rest assured that he got that in an 
abundant measure and has it still. 

We kept our weeping eyes fixed on him until he had 
disappeared in the distance, then the fact that we were 
hundreds of miles from civilization, without friends 
or helpers, surrounded by wild beasts and savage n^en, 
broke upon sisters heart with a terrible reality, and 
she v/as endowed with a brave, unflinching soul, she 
could not restrain her grief and anxiety. Tears flowed 
in copious showers from her eyes and it v/as with great 
difficulty that she finally calmed her distressed soul and 
put her misgivings out of consideration. 

The shades of another night were very welcome to 
us. The previous night had been one of alarm and sleep- 
lessness and we were so worn in body and mind that 
cavorting, yelling Indians and howling coyotes failed 
tc keep us awake and we slept soundly. The next morn- 
ing at the break of day we were making preparations 
for the journey to the Seminole Nation, and it is need- 
less for me to say that our hearts were disturbed with 



Settling In the Seminole Nation 53 

many forebodings, depressing apprehensions and melan- 
choly thoughts regarding the danger of the trip, and 
the kind reception that awaited us among those strange 
people. 

We were about twenty miles from the Seminole Na- 
tion but being very anxious to finish the journey dur- 
ing the day, we started very early in the morning. It 
was in the afternoon that we crossed the Canadian 
river at Browns Crossing, and we knew then that it 
would be impossible for us to reach the Seminole Na- 
tion that day, and the thought of camping in the woods 
alone was not at all encouraging, but Sister comforted 
Brother and me and we made the best of it that was 
possible at least. When night overtook us we made our 
camp under the branches of a great o'ak tree that grew 
near the trail. Sister and I made a big fire under the 
Tree, and for some reason, walked away from it some 
little distance. I cannot tell why we did that to this 
day. But just as we were in the act of returning to the 
fire a rumbling sound was heard in the tree top and 
some kind of living thing, (whatever it could have been 
was invisible to us and is not known to us today), fell 
or jumped into our fire and scattered it in every di- 
rection. 

It may seem strange to the reader of these lines when 
I say it, but we rested well and were not disturbed 
during the night, and the next morning, greatly re- 
freshed in bodies, we entered with vigor upon the last 
part of our journey. We were about nine miles from the 
Seminole Nation and we reached it about ten o'clock 
in the morning. We settled in a little log hut about 
nine miles west of the place that is now known as 
Sasakwa. The hut had been built by an old Indian and 
his squaw, who had gone out from their tribe to live 
alone, and it was located near the hut of an old Indian 
and his squaw, who also lived alone. 

The Seminoles at this time were more civilized than 
other Indian tribes, hence they were not living in col- 
onies like other Indians, but were scattered in all parts 



54 The Life and Practice of the Indian 




V^. 




Settling In a Little Log Hut With the Seminole Indians 



Settling In the Seminole Nation 55 

of their Nation and living in log houses instead of te- 
pees. 

~But you can rest assured that it was lonesome for us. 

The reader, can imagine that it was a very trying 
time for us and very discouraging to Sister, but she 
determined to make the best of it, no matter how bad 
things might turn out to be for us. Therefore we en- 
deavored to settle our hearts on our environment and 
life in hopes for the future settlement and upbuilding 
of Oklahoma and the establishment of institutions of 
enlightenment and civilization, and it is exceedingly 
gratifying to us that we have been permitted to see the 
most wonderful development along every line in Okla- 
homa that has blessed the world or the ages past dur- 
ing any generations of men that have ever lived upon 
the face of the earth. 

Magnificent cities, teeming with an intelligent popu- 
lation; and overflowing with riches that eclipses the 
most fabulous cornucopias of a mythical Midas of anci- 
ent times, have displaced the Indian camp and his 
blood-curdling warhoop is heard no more in the land. 

Railroads and electric interurban lines pass through 
our valleys and cut through our iron-stone hills and 
automobile highways penetrate every part of our great 
State. 

Church buildings, school houses, college and university 
structures dot the land that v/as once the battle ground 
of the red man, pioneers and bandits and with the in- 
troduction of Christianity and education, it can be truly 
said, that "the desolate is glad for them and the wil- 
derness blossoms as the rose." 

But to return to my story it will perhaps astonish 
the reader when I tell you that there was not another 
white family nearer than Texas and there was but one 
white man in the Seminole Nation at the time that we 
took up our abode in the red man's land, that we could 
afford to associate with because other white men that 
happened to pass through the Seminole country were 
generally very desperate characters and we did not 
care to associate with bandits. However, the young man, 



56 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Albert Stratton, who is mentioned in this paragraph, 
was raised among the Indians. H'e had fallen into their 
hands when a small child while the Seminoles were in 
Florida or Mexico and was brought with them to the 
Territory. He was a fine young man but did not know 
anything about his parents or kindred and seemed to 
be satisfied to live with his Indian captors, and they 
were good to him and held him in very high esteem. 
Mr. Stratton was very helpful to us in many ways and 
the fact that he was a white man and the only one 
in the country that we could have for a friend or com- 
panion made his company much more appreciated than 
it would have been under ordinary circumstances. I 
will never forget Albert Stratton. 

The Seminoles were very friendly to us and we be- 
came extensively acquainted with nearly all members of 
the tribe. They were exceedingly good to us and treated 
us with the noblest generosity. I feel that we are under 
everlasting obligations to them for the benevolent care 
that they bestowed upon us. They never allowed us to 
go hungry but kept us abundantly supplied with all 
kinds of meats and Soffaka corn. 

I will now describe the method that the Seminoles 
employed in the cultivation of corn. The entire crop 
was raised on a very small area of ground — not more 
than half an acre — fenced with poles that were tied 
together at the corners with hickory bark. The spot 
of ground was broken for the planting with a grubbing 
hoe that was made from seasoned hiskory, and ofteji 
their plows were made from the same material and 
though it was a very crude method, the little spot of 
ground produced a wonderful harvest of corn. 

I am sure that it will be interesting to the reader to 
learn more of Albert Stratton, to whom previous refer- 
ence has been made in another paragraph, and it will 
afford me great pleasure to speak of him and the ser- 
vice that he rendered me when a small boy in the 
Seminole Nation. Mr. Stratton was about eighteen years 
old when I first met him and he spent all of his life 
up to that time with the Seminoles. I never learned how 



Settling In the Seminole Nation 57 

he happened to fall into their hands because he never 
knew himself. It is possible that he was taken captive 
by the Seminoles in some of their wars with other In- 
dians, who had previously taken the babe and its par- 
ents captives in raids on the whites. Anyway, it is only 
conjecture, and all that I ever learned about him was 
the fact that he was raised by the Seminoles and did 
not know anything about his parents or the fate that 
overtook them. But Stratton was thoroughly conversant 
with the ways and customs of the Indians and he had 
learned how to make many instruments of war for their 
use, the bow and arrows being a speciality with him. 
He exhibited wonderful skill of workmanship in making 
the hunting knife also, but there was not an Indian 
living that could excel him in making bows and arrows. 
He was an expert marksman in shooting the arrow. I 
saw him on many occasions shoot squirrels out of the 
tops of the tallest trees and rarely ever finding it ne- 
cessary to make a second shot. He was very kind to me 
in the matter of instructing me in the mysteries of In- 
dian life. Since he had been raised with them, and had 
never associated with his people, the Indians as a mat- 
ter of course, looked upon him as one of them and told 
him many of their secrets and he seemed to take great 
pride in explaining many of these things to me. But 
he bound me to absolute secrecy and though I was a 
small boy, I respected him and kept every secret as 
silent as the grave. He was ten or twelve years old be- 
fore he learned to use the English language, and if I 
ever knew how he learned it, I have forgotten it. 

Guns were not extensively used among the Indians 
at the time about which I am writing, because they 
were hard to procure and, then, they preferred to use 
the bow and arrow, and I would put the gun aside and re- 
sort to the bow for defense. The Indian was an expert in 
the use of the bow and arrow, and I tell the truth when I 
say that I have seen an Indian shoot the head from a quail a 
distance of fifty yards. The bow had a great carrying 
range and it could hurl an arrow with wonderful force 
and effect a distance of several hundred yards. But the 



58 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

guns that were in use among the Indians were of the 
antiquated type. They had a few muskets and flintlock 
rifles, and occasionally a shot gun would be seen in the 
camp. But they had a good supply of side arms, such 
as single barrel pistols and cap and ball six shooters 
and they could use those things very effectively when 
they thought that the occasion required it. 

It is perhaps surprising to the reader for me to say 
that through our association with the Seminoles we be- 
came reconciled to our hard surroundings and deter- 
mined to make our home permanently with these peo- 
ple, which we did. Sister Senia always believed that 
the Territory was destined to become a great state, and 
the wonderful advancement that has been made has 
fully verified that opinion for today Oklahoma ranks 
with the leading states of the American Union and it 
is really secopd to none in natural resources, educa- 
tional institutions and material prosperity. 

We mastered the Indian tongue in a few years and I 
became so proficient in the use of it that my services 
were sought on many occasions when an interpreter 
was needed. 



CHAPTER 4 
Living Among The Se mingles 

There was another white family who lived in the 
country some years before our coming but who had 
disappeared — no one knew what became of them. Mr. 
Stratton often spoke of this family and the place of 
their residence which was near the place known as 
Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, a distance of twenty or twen- 
ty-five miles to the northwest of the little log hut in 
which we lived for nine years. The Indians would often 
speak of this family in such a way that it led me to 
believe that they must have been the first white family 
to penetrate the territory, and if any one, even the 
Indians had any knowledge of what became of them I 
never heard of it. 

However, the Indians who knew the family said they 
often wondered what would at last become of them, the 
condition of the country was so bad and opportunities 
as to making a living so poor. But they disappeared 
leaving no trace or knowledge as to what became of 
them 0] the hour of their departure. The young white 
lad who was then only a boy in his teens and had been 
reared Ly the savage Indians, said he never knew how 
lonely life was in exile from his own race and from the 
civilized world until he was afforded an opportunity 
to visit and associate with this family. It was a comfort 
and an inspiration to him to even hear the Indians 
speak of the white people who were often the topic of 
conversation among the Indians forty or fifty years ago. 

The story told by the boy pointing out how he man- 
aged to make possible his first visit to this white family 
is indeed thrilling. For months he had known their lo- 
cation some miles away, but the trip to the little log 
hut in which they lived was somewhat difficult as there 
were no roads, not even a trail, by which to travel. 
At that time on such a journey many obstacles were 
encountered as one traveled over mountains, across val- 
leys, and through great forests that were infested by 

(59) 



60 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

ferocious animals, the Mexican lion, the mountain 
panther, the black bear and occasionally one of the 
most dreaded animals, the grizzley bear. But it seemed 
with all the uncertainities and dangers that confronted 
this lad, he determined, by the aid of an aged Indian, 
to make the journey. So he went to the home of the 
Indian who knew the country well and asked him if 
he would accompany or pilot him on his journey. He 
kindly consented to aid him, so they hastened all neces- 
sary preparations. 

It is now late in the evening, the sun is fast sinking 
behind the western horizen, the darkness of the night 
is fast settling over the Indian hut which shelters the 
lad. Lying upon a bed of sage grass and covered by 
animal skins he passes the night in enjoyable and much 
needed rest. 

He arose next morning as the gray dawn of the day 
began to break in upon the eastern skies, and as the 
sun rose they were off on their journey. But before 
departing the old Indian prepared their noon meal of 
some wild meat and Soffka com. 

We are sure it will be interesting to our readers to 
know the methods used by the Indians in carrying 
their supplies, especially food. Often a large horn was 
used especially for carrying Soffka corn. Meat was gen- 
erally wrapped and placed into a hunting sack made 
of a grass known to the Indian for making tepees. 

The Indian with his bow in hand, the young lad with 
a number of arrows well spiked ready for any emer- 
gency, the two started out. On their journey they met 
a number of Indians and native negroes and a white 
man. out of Kansas. He was traveling in a covered 
wagon, and it was never known to them whether or not 
he was alone. The terminal of his journey was some 
parts of Texas. So they moved on and the day was 
far spent and the night drew near, when they emerged 
from the forest, passing out upon a small area of 
prairie, there could be seen in a distance the little log 
hut which was located in a cluster of beautiful trees, 
and which was built some time in the seventies by slave 



Living Among the Seminoles 61 

negroes known to the first white settlers as the Brun- 
ers, who also were noted, at least a number of them, as 
being very desperate, they having committed a number 
of murders and other minor crimes. 

In the little, humble home a family of four was found 
by the party: a father, mother, son and a little daught- 
er. There were a few Indians living in these parts. 
They belonged to a tribe known as the Pottowatomie. 
Neithen of the party nor the members of the family 
could speak the language of this tribe, which made it 
very difficult to secure the necessities of life. The 
household goods consisted of two chairs with rope bot- 
toms, a small bench and spring seat. Their bedding 
consisted of a pile of sage grass in the two corners of 
the hut and two or three well worn quilts for covering. 
Their cooking utensils consisted of a water bucket, the 
old time bake oven, a frying pan, a few tin cups, and 
some knives and forks without handles. The floor and 
the yard were used for the table. 

The father expressed the belief that if it had not been 
for his gun and a small dog they would have often suf- 
fered for food. Forty years ago, in the territorial days, 
the dog and the gun were an absolute necessity for se- 
curing food, as all eatables used by the Indians were 
different kinds of wild meats. 

We want to say, too, we are not exaggerating nor is 
it imaginary when we say that the Indian territory forty 
years ago was a country indeed desolate and utterly 
lacking in schools, churches or civilization. I am sure 
that a civilized idea was not to be found in the heart of 
the savage red man. And as to the white, the Cau- 
casian, race of people, there was more in those days in 
all the country. 

The Indians, themselves, many of whom still wore the 
breechclout and practiced many traditions of their fore- 
fathers, the wild and savage Indian in their manner of 
living, and eating found their happiest hour and their 
highest conception of heaven in their little log hut, with 
plenty of water, a bow and arrow and wild game. 

The war dance, and in fact every custom and manner 



62 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

of living of their forefathers in their wild and savage 
life, was practised by the Indians in the childhood days 
of the writer, except the heartless and inhuman war 
path. Likely there could not be found in all the coun- 
try but two or three persons that could read or write. 
The cheif of the Seminole tribe was educated in the 
schools of the North and our sister had a common 
school education. The Indian had no chance of even 
grasping a religious or a civilized idea. Yes, it was a 
desolate, wild and untamed country. But in many re- 
spects it was beautiful. 

One will never forget his experiences in a country 
like that of the Southwest forty years ago, with its in- 
habitants of the heathen Indian, the bandit and outlaw, 
the great forest infested with many kinds of beasts 
and animals and fowls, and with its beautiful rolling 
and boundless prairie whose beauties the feet of civiliz- 
ed men had never marred, but which for centuries had 
only known the hoofs of the buffalo,, the deer, the elk 
and the Indian pony. 

There could be seen grazing in the green carpeted 
valleys and along the mountain slopes, the beautiful 
deer with its golden colored hair in great droves. The 
antelope and the elk could be seen galloping across the 
unmarred and beautiful prairies as the wind in its gam- 
bols. 

When one thinks back on those days and of the coun- 
try as it was then, with not one ray of light as to civili- 
zation, relation or education, a dark and benighted alnd, 
the poor Indian, the savage red skin who had for cen- 
turies fought every opposition and hinderances to human 
life for his existence, who had made his home under 
the ledges of the rock and in caves and in the fastness 
of the great forest, fighting with the wild beast for his 
right to live as a human being, how one is made to ap- 
preciate and thank G/od for this wonderful race of 
people — the Indian, for the wonderful progress he has 
made out into the land of sunlight and civilization in 
every way that goes to make life worth while. O ! How 
the civilized world must stand in perfect amazement as 



Living Among the Seminoles 63 

they look today on the once desolate uninhabited lands 
of the Southwest, now a land with splendor and glory, a 
country that has no equal in America in wealth, op- 
portunities and prosperity. 

It seems we are forced to believe that there is no 
limitation to the art and skillfulness of men in build- 
ing and improving and accomplishing; it seems almost 
the impossible thing has been done in developing the 
once wild, dark, forsaken and benighted country into, 
it seems to us, the Eden of the world, Oklahoma. 

And yet was it man after all, or was it the omnipo- 
tent, invisible hand of Him, who has guided in the cen- 
turies of the past in the discovery and development of 
the countries of the world? 

How thankful the American government ought to be 
that it did extend or lengthen the cord of civilization 
to a benighted, enraged, and once heartless and inhu- 
man race of people. Poor Low, the Indian, by sending 
among them missionary educators, appropriating a vast 
amount of money to build missions, and schools, which 
at last proved to be indeed a wise policy on the part of 
the government. For when the Indians understood or 
apprehended the policy and friendship of the govern- 
ment toward them, they began at once to see that their 
hatred and warlike spirit toward the white man was 
wrong, that the Caucasian race of people had always 
been his friend. But he was not intelligently incapable 
of knowing it, because of the wild and savage condi- 
tion of his own life which was irresistabie and could not 
be over come except by an external condition and influ- 
ence brought to him by the outside world. 

And when this condition and influence was given by 
the government to this people through channels or me- 
diums, such as named above, the savage red man laid 
down rJs bo .v .iMg ; irow, his tomahavv-L and scalping 
Knife iiTid reiic\'^d his breechclout. and destroyed thou- 
sand? of human scalps kept by them n? i memory of 
(hei- forefathers. They quit the war p-^th and bowed 
their tnees before the white man and kissed his hand 



64 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

:hat once smvte him, and confessed th^i he was a friend 
and did not know it. 

The Indian proved and has proved to all the world 
his greatness, and that he is worthy to take rank among 
the greatest races of people and should be recognized 
and accepted by all as such, for many of them are 
today leaders among men and ministers of power and 
great intelligence, holding positions such as Congress- 
men and senators. We must acknowledge as a people 
and a government that among the greatest work ever 
accomplished by the people of America by war or 
otherwise was the civilizing of the Indians, and making 
them a race of people that is so much beloved and 
appreciated by the white race, that it seems possible 
that through sacred intermarriage between the two 
races that within another fifty years the race line be- 
tween them will be forever abolished. Now there has 
been such a wonderful change and progress in the last 
fifty years between the two races that it seems to me 
it would be good and fraternal for all if we could 
stand together with bowed heads and sing: 

Our Country 'Tis of Thee. 

Our country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, 
Of thee we sing. Land where my fathers died, 

Land of the pilgrims pride 

From every mountain side, let freedom ring. 

My native country thee, land of the noble free, 
Thy name I love. I love thy rocks and rills, 

Thy woods and templed hills, 

My heart with rapture thrills, like that above. 

Let music swell the breeze, and ring from all the trees. 
Sweet freedom's song. Let mortal tongue awake. 

Let all that breathe partake. 

Let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong. 

Our fathers God to thee, author of liberty. 

To thee we sing. Long may our land be bright, 



Living Among the Seminoles 65 

With freedom's holy light 
Protect us by thy might, Great God our King. 

Poetry Composed by the Writer. 

Now as father and mother were both dead,, 

Sister, Brother and I from Texas fled, 
Entering the territory when just a child, 

To live with the Indian savage and wild. 
In a country some day to be. 

The Eden of the world on land or sea. 

Now with the savage Indian a life I spent. 

Just why I cannot think, 
Over mountains and hills in my boyhood days I went, 

And when night came on, I lay down with the Indian 
and slept, 

To awake next morning a country to see, 
That meant in those days all to me. 

I did not know there was a God, who had made a 
world so large, 

With all of its glory, splendor and glee, 
Both on land and on the sea. 

When I think of life then, and think of it today, 
How I wonder how it could have been, 

That I spent my youth in sin. 

Now when I look back and think of those days, 

The savage Indian and all his ways. 
We think of life then and think of it today, 

Indeed something has passed away, 
I am so thankful that it came my way, 

Somehow I am here today. 
Yes and I have been redeemed from a life of sin. 

And I live today with white men. 

Though I spent my youth in sin, 

I never craved to be an outlaw and a criminal like 
some men. 
Someway or somehow I always believed. 



66 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

A life spent in sin somewhere, some day would end. 
Perhaps with this thought in my heart, 

Led my mind to a brighter spot. 
Today my soul is free from sin, 

It's anchored with God, yonder within. 

When only a boy I beheld the Indian face, 

I thought did God make this race. 
If he did in his great plan. 

He made a beast and not a man. 
But in after years I look again upon the face of Red 
Men, 

I am made to believe, God knew his plan. 
When He made the Indian, he made a man. 

We look at the Indian as he is today, 

Every doubt as to his manhood passes away, 
We think of the Indian in his savage life, 

He had no love for children and wife, 
He took his old squaw and away they would go, 

Over hills and mountains too and fro. 
In this life they were contented to be. 

Under the shade of some lonely tree. 

With his bow and arrow in his hand. 

He lived in the No-Man's-Land, 
He slept with the stars and the heavens above his head, 

And when he saw the white man coming how he fled. 
And from behind some hill later he crept, 

And took the white man's life while he slept, 
He had no clothes without, no principle within, 

He wore a breechclout made of skin. 

Now as to his warpath he would build a great fire, 
Dance around it and yell his war cry. 

Until hell beneath him would almost sigh. 
The heavens above him would stop and cry. 

As to his warpath no tongue can tell. 
The number of souls he has sent to hell 

And yet around God's throne we may meet, face to 
face. 



Living Among the Seminoles 67 

Then God will tell us of this Red race. 

Now as to the Indian, the country from whence he 
came, 

Hteavens record may give the name, 
But in glory when we meet some day, 

Then God will give it all away. 
In heaven together there to stay, 

We will never think of those heathen days,. 
Nor the little log hut by the river side. 

Where we made our home before we died. 

Now from a small child I had been with the Indians 
and had learned to speak their language perfectly, by 
the time I was in my teens, they had become very much 
attached to me and I loved them as a people very 
much, and as I have already mentioned, the desire and 
ambition of the Indian, as to hunting was every few 
days they would go out in search of wild game, and 
where is the boy just in his teens that would not enjoy 
and delight his soul in living in a country inhabited 
by all kinds of game and having an opportunity of 
going out every few days in company with the most 
skillful hunters the world ever knew, the Indian. 

And what would make it all the more a joy and a 
great pleasure, was to know that your comrade, it mat- 
tered not as to the dangers that imperiled your life as 
to wild beasts and animals, would never forsake you, 
but would fight for you to the last ditch. As to the 
writer, we spent our early life as a hunter with the 
Indian with a bow and arrow in our hand, and we 
cannot recall a time when the Indian failed to give us 
every consideration and protection in the most crucial 
hour. And at times we know we would have been des- 
troyed but for the Indian who did not fear and was 
never known to shrink from danger or even death 
and who would always take our place and, if need be, 
die for us- 

I recall one afternoon when two aged Indians and 



68 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

I went out into the mountains for a two or three days 
search for game. When the day was far spent and the 
sun was setting, we had pitched our camp on the bank 
of a very large stream, known as the South Canadian. 
We had now penetrated into the forests and mountains 
some fifteen or twenty miles from our little log hut, 
and as the two old Indians sat around the little fire 
they had built, I took my gun and walked away into 
a cedar forest and the hills for a little hunt. I had not 
gone far until I noticed a very large drove of beautiful 
wild turkeys feeding among the cedars which grew 
along the hill slope. I followed them for some distance 
out into a valley densely covered with great timbers. 
Not noticing the direction I had traveled I became be- 
wildered and completely lost from the camp. You will 
remember I was only a small boy of a few years and 
the sun was sinking fast over the hills and the horizon, 
and the darkness of the night was soon to settle and 
entomb the hills and the forest in its doleful and un- 
desirable appearance, and the wild beasts and animals 
would soon emerge from their daylight homes and prey 
upon their first victim, whom I felt would be me. I was 
lost in the hills and the forest and had no hope to es- 
cape the jaws of the raving and blood thirsty panther 
and Mexican lion through the night. 

But as I stood on a hillside overlooking the great 
forest to the west, with its beautiful green foliage all 
aglow with the gold of the setting sun, I sat down, 
buried my face in my hands and wept bitterly. But 
somehow in those moments came a thought to nie that 
I would be rescued from the horrible dreads and perils 
of that night. I have never fully understood why I felt 
that the hand of rescue was sure unless it was that 
my mind went back to early childhood, when I had so 
often heard Sister say that an Indian could not be lost 
neither could you be lost from them. And there arose 
in my heart a ray of hope and I arose to my feet. 
Walking only a short distance, I stood looking into an 
open valley to the southwest, I noticed two objects 
which seemed to be only a mere outline making their 



Living Among the Seminoles 69 

way slowly in the direction where I was standing. 
Their action would have reminded you of some one 
seeking a lost treasure. 

Now the night had fully gathered and the owls of 
the forest had begun to rent the air with their unmus- 
ical and noteless cries and the wild coyotes could be 
heard in the distance as they started on their night's 
expedition. The objects seen mentioned above were the 
two Indians trailing me by my dim tracks that no one 
but an Indian could have followed. Now dear reader 
you can imagine how I felt in that hour, when I could 
assure myself back in the company of my Indian com- 
rades and especially when I sat once more around the 
little camp fire. 

And yet the night was one never to be forgotten 
because of the happenings and the nerve racking ex- 
periences that became our lot to suffer. Now as we were 
very tired and worried from the experience of the 
evening and felt so much in need of a little rest, we re- 
tired for the night, all laying near the little camp fire 
under the green foliage of some very large oaks, shut- 
ting out every ray of light even the light of the stars, 
as they twinkled from their pedestals, which made the 
night unusually dark and impossible to see an object 
the distance of a few feet, if at all. 

It must have been about the hour of ten. Everything 
was still and quiet; not a sound could be heard, not even 
the quivering of the leaves, caused by a gentle breeze, 
could be heard. The old Indians were fast asleep 
wrapped in their blankets. Up to this hour it had been 
a sleepless night for me. Not one moment had I closed 
my eyes, but somehow I had felt that the hour was not 
a safe one for us. So I had laid awake watching every 
move and hearing every sound when all at once an un- 
usual noise could be heard. It seemed to be a distance of 
a few feet from us. The noise was similar to that of 
some one striking the ground. I arose quickly and 
called to the Indians and as they arose there could be 
seen an object only a few feet away. It was a large 
Mexican lion laying stretched in a springing position. 



70 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

The noise we heard was his tail striking the ground like 
that of a cat before springing upon its victim. Each In- 
dian had an old time cap and ball revolver, and they 
could use them equally as well as the gunsmen, the ban- 
dit or outlaw of the early days. It was in a jiffy of 
time the darkness was illuminated by the light of the 
gun fire, and the smoke was so intense that it was im- 
possible to determine the results of the conflict. I re- 
member how I ran and crouchel down behind the two 
Indians, believing I was shielding myself from becoming 
a victim of the most dreaded enemy of the forest to hu- 
man life, the Mexican lion. 

Now, after the fight was over and the clearing away 
of the dense smoke makirSg it possible to determine 
something as to the results of the fight, we found the 
monster animal had fled, but upon investigation and ex- 
amining the trail we found blood which witnessed that 
he had been wounded. There were two traits in the an- 
imal that were manifested on this occasion that were 
very unusual and out of the ordinary for a Mexican lion, 
and that was to come near or approach a light or a 
camp fire or to flee after being wounded. 

So a short time had passed and we somewhat recovered 
and recuDerated from this awful experience. The Indians 
again wrapped themselves in their blankets and fell fast 
asleep, lying on the ground only a few feet from where a 
short time before had crouched the monster beast, in his 
position which would have in a few moments likely meant 
death to all the party if it had not been for the unswerving 
and unshrinking nerve and markmanship of the Indians, 

But with the past experience of the evening and of the 
night, the remainder of the night was destined to be a sleep- 
less one for me, and it seemed that it must have been a Di- 
vine Providence for us all. 

It must have been nearing the morning hour, the Indians 
were still sleeping as if nothing had happened and as if 
our lives were not endangered in the least. But as for me 
there had been but few nights if any in all my experience 
that I so much desired to pass away and to see the light of 
day, no more. The little campfire had been built on the 



Living Among the Seminoles 71 

bank of the river. The fire had completely died out and the 
intense darkness of the hour was such that we have not lan- 
guage to describe it, when suddenly there could be heard 
,near the water a peculiar noise as if someone were tearing 
away the vines from the trees or breaking limbs. The noise 
was tlhat of a very large black bear. Its mission to the river 
was no doubt for water and our camp was near its trail as 
all wild animals and beasts have a certain place on 
streams or rivers where they come for water. So the ani- 
mal when he had scented us no doubt was making ready 
for an attack upon us. As I have stated above, the Indians 
were wrapped in their blankets fast asleep, their bows and 
arrows and guns by their sides. I sprang to my feet, seized 
the blankets and stripped them from the Indians. But as to 
what I said to them I have no memory but tlhey arose with 
their guns in their hands, and it seemed to me that they 
were not in the least excited. By this time the animal was 
within a few feet of us coming toward us walking on his 
hind feet. The Indians with deliberate aim fired killing it 
instantly. This was the largest animal of its kind I ever 
witnessed killed or captured in the territory wilds. The 
weight of the animal would have run into the hundreds. 

So we decided with the experience of the night, that it was 
our night off and that we would stay awake. We built a 
large fire — something the Indian seldom did and dragged 
the animal near it so we might have sufficient light by 
which to perform the skinning act. The Indian of those 
days invariably had on their person a large knife known as 
the hunting knife. The skinning of an animal was a small 
task, the work of a few moments with the Indian'^. In this 
case the «kin was soon removed, and the parts of the body 
that were most desired for meat were kept. 

Well it is now day and you can imagine the glad feeling 
of a boy who had gone through with the experience por- 
trayed to our reader. So all members of th*? party felt it 
would be more secure and safe in the little log huts which 
were some miles away than it would be to remain in the 
mountains and forest another night. But before departing 
we thought we would further investigate the extent of our 
battle with the lion. So we struck his trail and found that 



72 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

we had mortally wounded him. From the amount of blood 
we found along the trail. So we followed the trail only a 
short distance when we found him laying lifeless. He had 
just passed out of the valley and apparently started climb- 
ing the slope of the hill when death overtook him. So the 
Indians removed his skin and by some method tanned it 
and it was used for years in the home of these Indians for 
covering in winter. 

So we journeyed for home with the bear meat on our 
backs and when we came in sight of home the little log 
hut certainly looked good to me. It was late in the after- 
noon and we were all tired and fatigued and very hungry, 
as we had eaten but little since the evening before. Sister 
had prepared some Soffaka corn and out of some meal she 
had baked some cornbread known in those days as a'^h 
cakes made of cold water without any seasoning whatever 
and baked in the ashes. She also prepared for us some bear 
meat by roasting it over the fire. We ate it without season- 
ing, also, and certainly enjoyed the meal, and then I went 
out and retired for the night under the boughs of a large 
oak ree that stood near our little log hut. I was so fa- 
tigued and worn out when once asleep I did not awake until 
the sun of another day was several hours high in the sleep- 
less skys. 

Now after sister and little brother and I had settled 
among this tribe of Indians, the Seminole, and had won 
their friendship and love, and had learned their language, 
we loved and respected them very much, though we were 
of the white race and they were of the Indian race and 
many of them were crossed with the Negro race. But they 
were all very kind and affectionate to us and gave us every 
consideration, as to protection and saw that we had food 
and were sheltered and kept warm and comfortable in the 
winter. The greatest friend that the white man ever had in 
the world was the Indian, especially when he felt that the 
white man was a friend to him. The friendship of the In- 
dian was no doubt secure in our hearts and proven beyond 
a doubt, when it was realized how from the day we entered 
the territory they had loved and protected us, and had so 
often rescued us from the jaws of death by thrusting their 



Living Among the Seminoles 73 

own life into the embrace of death itself for us. We can- 
not enumerate the times that these Indians manifested their 
love and friendship for us. By their self-sacrificing deeds 
in our behalf, it is indeed a memory of the Indian, Poor 
Low, that will be kept fresh and fragrant and scared in 
our hearts as long as life abides with us. , 

Now as a boy in his teens I had accomplished and 
achieved many of my desires as to the Indians' life and man- 
ner of living. There arose in my heart another ambition 
and at the same time I knew I was of the white race, but 
all my life I had loved the very thought of the Indian war 
dance and as I had learned a number of their leading war 
songs and there were but few Indians that could excel me 
when it came to yelling, or gobbling the war whoop, and I 
could speak their language perfectly. I started out to be- 
come a leader in the great war dance which I accomplished 
in a short time so that for several years I led them not only 
in their war dance but also in every dance known to the 
Indian in those days, the war dance, the green corn dance, 
the snake dance, and the stomp dance. 

I might have mentioned in other parts of this book the 
design of the various dances mentioned above, but let us 
recall to your mind that the design and purpose of the war 
dance practiced by the wild and savage Indian should be 
thoroughly understood by the Caucasion race. The pre- 
paration for the war dance was as follows : A number of 
Indian braves would engage in the preparation by gather- 
ing and piling together a large quantity of wood in the cen- 
ter of a large circle that had been previously prepared, and 
then a couple forks set up in the earth, a pole from one to 
the other just over the wood and upon this pole they would 
fasten a number of human scalps of all kinds and sizes of 
men, women and children, and out of womens scalps their 
waist belts were made. With the hair of the scalps hanging 
below their knees, these belts were worn by the braves as 
they danced the war dance. The wood was ignited and be- 
came a fire of intense heat around which they danced for 
twelve hours, believing that they would so relate them-^elves 
to the fire that their nature and influence and power would 
consume and overcome their enemy, as the fire consumed 



74 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

and overcome the wood. This internal power brought about 
in the Indian from the war dance continued with him a per- 
iod of six days, and at the end of six days as a warrior he 
must return to the war dance another twelve hours. If 
during the six days he met an enemy he would fight to 
death. He was never known to run. If he died, he died 
a hero and a brave. In this way he was buried among the 
dead of his own tribe otherwise he was exiled and buried 
alone and was forever thought of by his tribe a coward and 
a traitor, and would miss the haven of rest, the happy hunt- 
ing ground, where all Indians believed they would meet af- 
ter death. Many of those who participated in the war dance 
were dressed in breechclouts, had moccasions on their feet 
and terrapin shell partly filled with gravel fastened about 
their ankles. Many of them wore blankets, especially the 
women. There were leaders among them. The leaders of 
the war dance were next to the chief in greatness among the 
tribe. He wore a cap with streamers of feathers from 
each temple which touched the ground. The Indian braves 
and men danced to themselves, and so did the women, two 
and three in a large circle keeping time with a song sung 
by the leader and some others of the braves, and two In- 
dian women who made a noi''e cut of a drum made of deer 
skin stretched over a piece of a hollow log. In their war 
dance they usually began at seven in the evening and closed 
at seven in the morning, and at that time all of them would 
disperse and swiftly depart for their homes. 

The Indian could have never been educated and civilized 
if the white race or the government had permitted them 
to continue the practice of the war dance. Not even the 
modern Indian of forty years ago could have been educated 
and civilized if the war dance had not have been forever 
abolished and forbidden by the government. For we can 
recall how the war dance would change the complete dispos- 
ition of the old time Indian. We remember sitting down 
and conversing with him and how he would talk with us 
and it seemed that he appreciated our pre'^ence and to be 
with us until he entered into the war dance, and especially 
next morning after ten or twelve hours of constant dancing. 
It seemed that he entered into the dance with the same con- 



Living Among the Seminoles 75 

ception and purpose of the old forefathers, a preparation 
for war. He worked himself up to such a degree of hatred 
and bloodthirst for his enemies that he was not in character 
and disposition the same man at all. Next morning you 
might approach him as to a conversation upon any question. 
He had nothing for you except a grunt or a sign. This dis- 
position would continue even with the modern Indian for 
several days. So this enables us to understand the reason 
why the United States government forbade and labored so 
hard to persuade the Indians everywhere to abandon the 
war dance. 

Now let us notice the significance of the dance known as 
the green corn dance. This dance had no effect whatever 
on the life of the Indian as a preparation for war, but it 
was kept and practiced by the wild Indian as more of a 
feast dance. The different colonies of the same tribe would 
gather at the appointed place and time for the dance. There 
were two sets of large vessels used, pots known as the old 
fashioned wash kettles. One set of the ve^^sels contained 
roasting ears, the others contained different kind of herbs. 
A fire was built and the herbs were cooked all night for 
medicinal purposes. The roasting ears were also cooked. 
Next morning at an early hour each Indian was given a 
pint or more of this medicine, administered by some one of 
the women, the physician. The medicine would affect th:se 
who drank it in such a way that they vomited until their 
stomachs were perfectly empty. Then a large table was 
prepared, often by spreading blankets or animals skins 
upon the ground. The roasting ears were then placed upon 
the table and then all those that had drunk the medicine as- 
sembled around the table and ate the roa'^ting ears. But 
before eating they sat with bowed heads for some minutes 
as if they believed that the corn contained a great virtue 
power that would affect them in some unknown way. 

There was also a dance known as the snake dance. This 
dance was not practiced except by a few of the most savage 
tribes. However they would assemble at the time and place 
appointed by the chief. In this dance every method was 
used that was in the war dance except the snakes. The 
snakes used were not of the poisonous kind and were cap- 



76 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

tured by the warriors and kept indefinitely. In the dance 
they would remove all clothing except the breechclout. In 
this tribe both men and women wore long hair hanging 
loose around their shoulders. Holding the snake in each 
hand near his head and tail, and holding his back with their 
teeth, they would dance for hours. At times the snake was 
wrapped about the Indian's neck with its head in the lat- 
ter's mouth. 

The purpose and the design of the dance was to relate 
themselves to the serpent family, as they doubtless believed 
in the supremacy of the serpent, and the Indian was always 
ready to bow himself before his superior, and if once prov- 
en to the Indian that you were his superior in war or other- 
wise, a memory of you would be kept as a tradition, and no 
doubt for the same reason the serpent was reverenced and 
used in the dance. For in the centuries of the past he had 
in some way proven to the Indian his destructive power. 

Now there was a dance known as the stomp dance which 
was practiced by very nearly all tribes. It was known to 
the Indians as the get-together dance where they met as a 
tribe, selected or appointed all braves leaders of the war 
dances, and planned the location or hunting ground for each 
separate colony of the one tribe and also the temiporary 
chiefs or leaders of each colony. The custom and practice 
among the Indians has never been understood by the white 
race, and there is a reason to be given, and that is the Indian 
never revealed a secret or a practice of his own race so his 
snemy might get hold of it. This can be truthfully said of 
the Indian but of no other race of people in the world, that 
whatsoever they belived in or practiced they kept and nour- 
ished sacredly in their hearts and were never known to be- 
tray it. 

Now we feel that our readers would be interested in know- 
ing something of the Indian ball game, a game that was 
practiced among all tribes of Indians. It was considered 
by them something like the atheletic game of the white race, 
and yet the game had a very peculiar effect upon the In- 
dians life especially when it was played between two tribes. 
Despite my twenty-five years spent with them, I have nev- 
er understood why the ball game would have the effect it 



Living Among the Seminoles 77 

did upon the players. The game was played with all earn- 
estness and skillfulness, and at the same time it was played 
with murder in the hearts of all the players in so much that 
I have witnessed a number wounded and killed and when any 
one of the players was put out of the games by wounds or 
death there would come forth another one from among those 
watching the game to take his place. I do not know if his- 
tory gives a detailed account of the Indian ball game, but 
it is not exaggerating to say that the ball game was never 
finished with the players who began it. The ball was very 
small and made of a substance and covered in deer skin. 
Each player used two bats, one in each hand. The end of 
each bat was of a cup shape in which the ball was caught 
and thrown. It was never handled with the hand. Making 
a tally consisted in throwing the ball through a ring, which 
was situated between two poles that were elevated ten or fif- 
teen feet. 

The game was very interesting and peaceful when played 
by any one tribe. It was when two tribes played that the 
warlike spirit appeared. Often preceding the games the 
war dance for a full night was engaged in. So we see why 
the statements above are true when we said that many were 
wounded and killed during the game, because they met each 
other upon the ball ground with murder in their hearts, as 
if they were meeting the pale faced enemy on the battle- 
field. 

It is strange indeed but nevertheless true that a race of 
people of the same blood would exterminate each other in 
war as the Indian has. There might be this reason offered 
for consideration and that is, Indians of all tribes have the 
■^ame appearance as to looks but none speak the same lan- 
guage except the branch tribe of the one main tribe. And 
yet all tribes of Indians are just as foreign in their nature 
and ways to each other as they are in their language. We 
must remember that there was a time when the Indian, es- 
pecially in his wild savage life, believed and taught his child- 
ren that he could pay no higher tribute or respect to his 
tribe than to die for and in defense of all things whatso- 
ever his tribe belived in or practiced, and this same spirit 
or tradition could be found and was practiced by the modern 



78 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Indian of a few years ago. It was no other spirit than this 
that led the Indian of a few years ago, when condemned to 
be shot, to appear at the appointed hour and give up his 
life at the hand of an officer. The imprisonment of an 
Indian that kept him secure after being condemned to die 
was this tradition in his heart given by the wild Indian, 
his forefather. 

History does not record an incident where an Indian ever 
violated this tradition and brought upon his tribe a shame 
and disgrace because of his disreputable death. 



CHAPTER 5 
White Neighbors At Last ! 

It was in the year of 1880 that we made our home among 
the Seminole Indians, settling in a little two roomed log 
house built in the year 1869 by an old Indian and his squaw 
in which they made their home. When the Indians left, the 
cabin was without a floor, having only a fireplace and a 
chimney made of stick and dirt. Its location was a few 
miles east of the line, of Old Oklahoma, seven miles east and 
south of the place known to the early settlers as Violet 
Springs where the first saloon was located in the Southwest, 
and also a place that should be known in history where more 
men were killed and wounded than any place known to the 
settlers. 

Now after a few months stay in the little hut we came 
into po-^session of an ax. It had certainly been a great ques- 
tion with us how we were to manage to live in these peril- 
ous times, but we made every possible sacrifice and effort 
to adjust our lives to the conditions of the country and even 
to take up the life and practices and manner of living of the 
Indian, even to the extent of sleeping and eating according 
to the custom of the red men. 

So Sister and I went to work, using the ax and an old 
fashioned eye hoe for our farming implements, and within 
a short time had cleared and dug up and prepared a small 
piece of ground. A quarter of an acre or more which lay 
at the head of a small ravine, and which was densely cov- 
ered with a small growth known as shumake. We fenced it 
with poles, tieing each cross or corner with hickory bark, 
and planted it in what was known to the Indian as Soffa- 
ka corn, a corn that has been raised and kept by the Indian 
even the wild Indian, since history gives an account of them. 
On the small area of ground we raised corn sufficient for 
our bread and Soffaka corn. 

Likely, just here we had better take space to explain to 
our readers how the Soffaka corn and meal was prepared to 
serve or to eat. The corn was shelled and placed into a 
wooden basin hewn out of a block or the top of a stump. 

(79) 



80 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Then a mallet was made to fit into the basin. The corn was 
placed therein and beat with the mallet until it was some- 
thing like chops, and then removed and sifted through a 
sifter made of dear skin stretched across a piece of a hol- 
low log. The course part was then placed in water where 
it remained until it was soured, and then served. The fine 
part or the meal was mixed with clear water and was cooked 
in the ashes. It was known to the early settlers and among 
people of today as ash cake bread. We also had as a part 
of our great wealth a couple of small pigs that we had 
stolen from a wild hog bed in the absence of the mother as 
she was out feeding. We had a few chickens that were giv- 
en to Sister by the Indian chief. They were of the stock 
known to the white race and for a number of years they 
could be found among the chickens of the early settlers. 
They were called the Frizzly chickens. It was never known 
except among the Indians just how they came into posses- 
sion of these chickens. Their feathers would have reminded 
you of curly hair. Their color was that of a Plymouth 
Rock chicken. 

Something now of the wild hog and its nature may inter- 
est you. In the early days of the Southwest they could be 
found in great numbers and of all sizes. The wild hog of 
the Indian Territory had a hoof like that of a mule. The 
hoof was not divided, their hair grew long and very coarse, 
and their bristles were valuable. It is strange to say there 
was not an animal nor a beast, even the lion, that would 
endure more punishment and stand their ground longer in 
a fight with a human being than a wild hog. In studying 
the nature of animals, it seemed that they all had a slight 
knowledge or instinct of what death was except the wild 
hog. There was but one way to conquer them and that was 
to kill them. And another peculiarity about them was they 
would seldom feed after night but would remain in their 
beds until near day and then go out feeding. If there could 
be found by them a cornfield it always meant destruction 
and a great loss to the family, and it was indeed very 
difficult and a great task to fence against them especially 
with poles and rails for it seemed they could climb such 



White Neighbors at Last! 81 

fences equally as well as a cat, and the only method of pro- 
tection against them was to kill them outright. 

So each morning my task was to rise early and guard and 
protect the little cornfield on which our lives almost de- 
pended. Now at this time there was not an Indian, es- 
pecially cne of my age who could use the bow and arrow 
with more accuracy and success than I. As to my weapons, 
they consisted of a bow and arrow, a hunting knife and the 
old time civil war musket. At short range I would often use 
my bow and arrow. It was not a question of running the'^e 
animals out of the field but if possible leaving them dead, 
fcr such methods had to be carried out for self protection. 
The wild turkey and deer and various other animals were 
very destructive to our little fields. | I was very fortunate 
for at this time I was the owner of a large bull dog. He 
was given to me by a traveler. The dog had traveled until 
his feet was "^o worn and sore he could go no farther. But 
after a week or two he had fully recovered and with his feet 
cured he was ready to fulfill or perform every duty and 
mission that becometh a dog. 

I have in mind now an occasion when I am sure he saved 
my life. It was one morning just before the break of day. 
I arose, took my gun and was off for the little field in search 
of the wild hog, when an animal could be heard scaling the 
fence of the field. So I heard what I believed to be the 
destructive critters entering. So I got down and crawled for 
some distance and I had my dog very well trained to slip 
and crawl behind me when trying to get in gunshot of an 
animal or game and after we had gone some distance I 
raised up to prospect as to the whereabouts and location of 
the hogs, and behold within a few feet there lay crouched 
in a springing position one of the largest mountain panthers 
I think it has ever been my privilege to see. Now what 
would you have done in a moment like this? It was not a 
case in which you could debate or di'^cuss the question or 
make fine points touching life or death, but the issue was 
face to face so my only escape from death I felt was my 
dog and that was to put him between me and the animal, 
and let him handle the situation while I made my get away, 
I spoke to him and it seemed to me in an instant he was 



82 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

on the animal I arose and fled but in leaving, my gun in 
some way was jerked from my hand and as I ran I looked 
back ju'it in time to witness the animal as he threw the 
dog from him, turning him somersaults across a number of 
middles. It seemed to me that the the animal caught the 
dog in his front feet held him clear of the ground then flung 
him with such a terrific force that the dog seemed to be 
somewhat addled, but coming to himself, strange to say 
about a bull dog, he fled to the house, the animal in close 
pursuit of him, pas'^ing within a few feet of me. And that 
the part of the incident I have never understood for it 
seemed to me if I had had wings I could not have used 
them more successfully than I did my limbs. He chased 
the dog within a few rods of the little hut then turned and 
soon disappeared in the thickness of the brush. 

There is an old saying, and a very true one, that exper- 
ience is our greatest teacher, and it was true that morning 
the incident taught us that we were in a country wild in- 
deed with its animals crouching along the way, to prey upon 
their victims and the place for a boy of my age was at home 
with the doors well closed until the light of the day drove 
the animals to their daylight home. 

Now in the spring of 1887 there moved a white family of 
three from some part of the Lone Star State. They en- 
tered the territory at a point on Red river known as the 
Beasley crossing. They traveled from this crossing by the 
way of a trail out of Texas into Kansas. Their first stop 
for any length of time was in Old Oklahoma some miles 
west of where we were located in the Seminole nation, at 
Youngs crossing on the Canadian river. Their way of trav- 
eling was in a one horse wagon, and at this time I was just 
a boy of fourteen and after hearing of the family settling in 
the country much of our conversation v/as concerning them, 
and just how we. would manage to see them, was indeed a 
problem ; far the dangerous conditions of the country at this 
time would not admit traveling in any way, unless fully 
equipped for all emergencies in meeting the foes that any 
3ne was sure to encounter along the way. 

I was at this time the owner of a little black Spanish 
horse with a long mane and tail that was beautiful. It al- 



White Neighbors at Last! 83 

most dragged the ground. He had been captured by some 
Indians from among the wild horses that were plentiful in 
tho^e days. They could be found in great herds in many 
parts of the country. They would especially range or feed 
in territory near streams or lakes of water. Now the little 
horse mentioned above had been captured and handled by 
the Indians until he had become so gentle and obedient and 
safe that most any child could ride or handle him. So at a 
late hour one afternoon as we sat in our little log hut around 
the fireside and as Sister and I had spent much of the day 
discussing and planning the best way whereby we might 
accomplish the task of making the cross-country trip, which 
was considered one of much danger, it was decided that 
Sealum, the little black horse and I were to make the trip 
next day. The location of the family was a distance of 
twenty-four miles to the west. They were camped near a 
point on the Canadian river known as Youngs crossing. 
I will never forget the night. We did not retire until a late 
hour. With only a few hour/^ rest we arose early while it 
was yet dark. Sister prepared a scanty breakfast and also 
a lunch for me which consisted of some wild meats and Sof- 
faka corn, and as the gray dawn or the light of the day was 
breaking and illuminating with its light the eastern skies, 
and the sun rose in it-^' glorious splendor, casting its rays of 
light over the hilltops and valleys and painting the great for- 
est with many colors, I mounted the little black Spanish and 
was off on my journey and soon disappeared by the way of 
a trail leading to the west. 

It was about the hour of ten when I emerged from the 
timber, a great forest passing out upon a scope of country 
known as the Violet Springs prairie. We had at this time 
left behind us fifteen or twenty miles of the most danger- 
ous and dreaded journey. Not an animal of any description 
had been seen by us along the way and this was indeed very 
unusual for those days, for ordinarily it would have meant 
a nerve racking experience. But I suppose it was our lucky 
day. After passing cut upon the prairie the di'^'tance of a 
few miles I noticed some distance away in front of us a very 
large deer with a full set of horns running at full speed, and 
a very large grey hound dog keeping pace by his side. An 



84 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Indian wrapped in a red blanket drew up alongside the 
deer just as the dog caught the latter. I had arrived 
on the scene just in time to see the Indian alight from his 
horse with a hunting knife in his hand. He caught the deer 
about the neck with his left arm and began to lacerate the 
deers throat, and it seemed to me that the deer jumped sev- 
eral feet high taking the Indian with him striking him with 
all four feet stripping the blanket completely from him and 
cutting his body in a number of places. 

I speak of this incident that we might impress our readers 
of the endurance of an Indian in conflict with man or 
bea'^^t. Though the body of this Indian, it seemed to me, 
was lacerated and torn he did not cease his effort until he 
had accomplished the task of killing the deer. 

Now within a short time I was to meet and to be the 
guest of no doubt the second white family that ever lived in 
that part of the world. And when I arrived I found a fam- 
ily consisting of three : father, mother and little daughter. 
Their dwelling and shelter frcm the rain, snow and cold 
winds of the winter, was a small tent. Their bedding con-, 
sisted of two hay beds and some well worn quilts. A spring 
seat and the ground were used to sit on. As I have stated 
above they were the owner of one horse, aged and poor and 
a wagon, well worn. You know we did all possible to rake 
up a relationship. I felt at that time that I would have ac- 
knowledged relation with most any thing that had a white 
face and at the same time I was not so particular as to our 
relation as the little girl was about my age, and during my 
few hours stay I noticed her occasionly looking at me very 
affectionately, at least I thought so, and hoped that it was 
not imaginary on my part, and of course feeling and assur- 
ing myself that the little girl was somewhat in love with 
me on first sight, and as for me I felt if I failed to make 
the little girl my intended, the Hope of the white race was 
forever gone. For I truly believed as she was the first 
white girl I had ever seen she would no doubt be the last 
one, for I believed that she was the only one, and she was as 
far as I was concerned. 

And now, as the father was planning to take his depar- 
ture from the country soon, I could not bear the thought, 



White Neighbors at Last! 85 

and I realized that quick work had to be done in securing 
them a home or a place for the remainder of the winter. So 
I began to inquire of the father if he would not leave the 
country if I would secure him a place to live, and he agreed 
to stay for the winter if he could find shelter or a home for 
himself and family. With this understanding I mounted 
my pony and was off on my return trip for home. Follow- 
ing a trail leading eastward, and among the hills and for- 
ests, I soon disappeared. As long as we were on the back of 
the little black horse we were not afraid for there was not 
an animal that roamed the great forests that could bound 
away and fight the earth with such speed as Sealum. Many 
times it seemed that he would fail to carry us to safety, but 
he would always at last triumphantly deliver us from the 
mouth of the lion and the .deathly embrace of the panther. 

So it was only a few hours when we were again sitting in 
the little log hut around the fire telling Sister the story or 
the experience of the trip and what the family had decided 
to do if a place could be found, such as an Indian hut. So 
with the thought of their staying, which was indeed an in- 
spiration to us, we got busy and within a few hours had lo- 
cated them in a little two roomed log house, built in the 
seventies by some slave negroes located some miles to the 
north. So after making sure of the house and some other 
preparations that were needful for the comfort and welfare 
of the family, we were off again with a message of glad tid- 
ings bearing the information that all things in the way of 
a shelter and comfort needed for the remainder of the win- 
ter had been provided. 

On our journey of twenty-five long miles which stretched 
through the fastness of a wilderness, we did not encounter 
an obstacle or a danger from any kind of an animal or 
bea'^t, except we saw one very unusually large panther 
standing near the trail, but we passed him so swiftly that 
I hardly think that he recognized it being anything except 
the little black horse, and the way he was moving I think 
the animal decided that a chase or an attack would have 
been in vain, even if he had been contemplating such a 
thing, and as to the indurance of the panther and horse we 
do not believe that there lived an animal with such indurance 



86 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

as my pony possessed for in a distance of twenty or twenty- 
five miles he didn't seem to weary in the least or become 
fatigued but would accomplish the task without breaking a 
gallop. 

Now the morning of this incident will always be a memory 
fresh and fragrant. The morning was bright and the cold 
winter winds of the night were still holding in its deathly 
embrace the lifeless form of the great and towering timbers, 
entombed and covered in a shield of ice. The sun rose, and 
as it climbed the sleepless skies, it cast forth its golden 
sheen over the valleys and hills, and because of the cluster- 
ing icicles and snow as they hung about the cliffs of the 
mountains and hills, and from the branches of the great 
and towering oaks the light of the suns rays filtering 
through and among them, painted acres of diamonds and 
fields of pearls. One could never appreciate such a scene 
unless given the opportunity of beholding it. 

Now the greater part of the morning had passed and it 
must have been nearing the hour of ten when I arrived at 
the little tent, and alighted from my little horse and began 
to impart the message which was no doubt filled with glad- 
ness and received as a message of joy which pertained to 
their future home, a little two roomed log house, located 
some miles to the northeast of their present location, as this 
was what they had for some months looked and wished for. 
In a short time they gathered together all their belongings, 
hitched the horse to the old wagon and were off for their 
new home. While they were making ready for their journ- 
ney several times I felt that I would tell the old gent that 
I thought Sealum would carry double, that the journey 
would be somewhat dangerous for the little girl and that 
traveling in the wagon would not be near so pleasant and 
comfortable and safe as on Sealums back, in the company 
and under the protection and care of a hero of the South- 
we'^t like myself. And I also felt sure that Sister would 
take the best of care of her until they could get settled and 
set up for housekeeping in their new mansion, the little log 
hut, located or built in a small cluster of beautiful trees on 
a side-hill overlooking a beautiful valley without timber cov- 
ered in a native grass, known as a sage grass which was 



White Neighbors at Last! 87 

very valuable to the Indians and also to the early white set- 
lers of Oklahoma. But it seemed to me when I determined 
to import to the father my intentions and desires as to the 
little girl departing with me, somehow my heart would fail 
and my tongue would become paralyzed in so much that I 
stood there with my eyes steadfast upon them and watched 
until they completely disappeared. But within a few mo- 
ments I had again mounted my pony and was off for home, 
following the trial leading to the east that I had by this 
time become very familiar with. 

I must say on meeting this family that the country that 
was so desolate and wild and destitute of all things that 
would make life worth living never seemed the same country 
to me. They're moving into the country was to us a bright 
and morning star. It seems to me as I think of those days, 
especially this incident, I consider it a star of hope and light 
that arose in our hearts that led or guided us to the first 
impression of civilization that ever came to our hearts. So 
our return home was successful and as we arrived at the 
door of the little hut the sun was down and though the hour 
was early the night was unusually dark, and as we stood 
outside we could see Sister and little brother through the 
cracks of the log house sitting by the fireside. The hitching 
rack for the little horse was a small oak tree which stood 
near the door. So I hitched my horse, went in and sat down 
upon the dirt floor of the little hut near the fireside and 
began to relate my experience of the journey, and the story 
of the family, who were often to experience the comforts of 
the little home we had planned for them. 

Now as I related this story to Sister and when she was 
assured that the family was to remain in the country and 
that they were locating near us, you could see a joy and light 
break forth in her countenance as if she for the first time 
had realized that civilization in its glory and light was 
breaking forth in upon a heathen and benightened land in 
which we had for these years made our home. It must have 
seemed to her that her life's hope and pursuit had become 
at last a reality. 

May we call our readers attention to the fact that no one 
can ever appreciate civilization until he experiences it for 



88 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

himself. The childhood days of the writer were spent in 
exile from civilization and from all things that might give 
mortal man a chance in life to be a man, or an example, or 
in some way help others live an ideal life. No one can have 
the slightest idea of the impression and thoughts of the 
writer who has spent his last twenty-five years in a land 
illuminated by the light of civilization. 

There was nothing to live for, to see or enjoy, except the 
wild and savage Indian and his life of blood thirsty brutality 
and hundreds of slave negroes whose life and character were 
but little if any better cr different from that of the beast of 
the field or the animal of the forest. They were once owned 
and controlled by the Indians before the time the Indians 
immigrated to the Southwest. The Indian negro, owned and 
controlled by the Indian, was somewhat different from 
those owned and controled by the white race. The differ- 
ence consisted largely in the characteristics of the two 
races, the white and the Indians, one being a savage, and 
the other civilized. So were the Negroes. This substan- 
tiates the old saying that the human life and character con- 
sists largely of the things that it eats, reads and associates 
with 

Now I must get back to my story. It must have been 
abou+; the middle of the week, and by this time the family 
was located and set up for housekeeping in the little hill- 
side log hut. The last three days of the week must have 
been the longest days in my boyhood life, as I had planned 
to visit the following Sunday, to see the little girl. I was 
so interested that there was not an hour through the day 
that I wasn't thinking in some way of the family, especial- 
ly my little girl, as I felt sure that I would see her when 
Sunday morning came, and as sure as Sealum was at the ap- 
pointed hour able to fight the trail. And in making my 
plans for the week, I wondered considerably if the little 
girl looked and thought of things and the future as I did. 
If she did, Sealums back would feel the weight of a bride 
and bridegroom Sunday night, and there would be an extra 
sage grass bed spread in one corner of our little log hut, and 
some additional furniture would have to be secured especial- 



White Neighbors at Last! 89 

ly a stool to sit on, made of a block of wood, and also an 
extra dish or two made of terrapin shells. 

So, Saturday night came at last and it was a sleepless one 
for me. Several times during the night I arose opening the 
door beholding the face of the eastern sky hoping to see 
the great dawn of the day breaking forth over the horizon. 
Several times during the night I heard the little black Span- 
ish nicker as if to say, he was ready at any moment to take 
me safely to the little log hut where the family at this time 
was no doubt residing. So I arose early and Sister pre- 
pared cur breakfast, and the sun was now about two hours 
high climbing the "kies on its sleepless journey. I mounced 
the little black horse and bounded away to the north over 
the hills and across valleys like the elk of the west, not even 
a trail by which to travel, only by direction, and within a 
short time I was standing at the door of the little house 
built of logs, and when I had knocked at the door the little 
maid came and opened the door and welcomed me in and 
after passing the time of day and giving a brief story and 
experience of the few days that had elapsed since seeing 
them, and of my journey, as I sat by the fire I noticed an 
old time bake oven and within it some roasted corn which 
had been the morning meal of the family, and I have never 
understood just how they managed to escape starvation 
prior to this time, as they had nothing by which to secure 
food, not even a gun or dog which was very essential in 
those days and even to the early settlers of Oklahoma, for 
it wafc almost impossible for a human being to livj without 
a gun or a dog, as foods consisted largely of wild meats. 

Now after a few hours stay with the family in the little 
home and as I thought of them and their conditions and the 
opportunities and privileges that the country at that time 
offered to a human being especially a white person, like the 
lightning flashing from East to West, my mind reverted 
back to that evening when the sun was sinking and the 
wt-stern skies were all aglow with the setting sun and the 
evening star could be seen hanging as a great light slowly 
descending as if let down by some invisable hand, when 
sifter and I and little brother walked out on the sand of the 
famous Red river and crossed to the other side into a wild 



90 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

and desolate uninhabited land, the home of the savage In- 
dian and outlaw. . 

It was indeed romantic and as a dream to me. I arose 
from my seat bidding them goodby, and as I passed out at 
the door the mother embraced me in her arms with tears of 
gratitude she thanked me for my kindne.'^s and for what I 
had done for them. I then turned from her mounted my 
pony and was off on the return trip for home, which was 
calculated to be cne of great danger, but I confronted it 
without fear because of my confidence in Sealum the little 
horse, knowing that he had never failed to prove himseii 
at all times to be equal to all occasions and dangers. He 
was a real deliverer from the mouth of the lion and the 
embrace cf the panther. We moved homeward like a shad- 
dow before the sun, and in a short time we were at home. 
I alighted from my horse entered our little log hut sat down 
and began to relate the story of the family to Sl'^ter, as to 
their comforts and needs of life that they had only a small 
bit of corn for food, and it was of the corn roasted that theu* 
breakfast consisted of. We had some little Soffaka corn Sis- 
ter and the Indians had prepared, and plenty of wild meat 
such as wild hog and deer. So Sister prepared some of each 
and within an hour or so before the going down of the "un 
I was on my way to the family with the meat and Soffaka 
corn. If I had only been interested in the father and mothei 
I d n't think I would have ventured out upon that perilous 
journey that night, which proved to be one of great danger 
and a narrow escape from death. Notwithstanding having 
the knowledge that the trip would likely mean death to me, 
I could not endure the thought of the little girl being hun- 
gry and having nothing to eat except the roasted corn, but 
?> I have stated above having great confidence in my little 
horse that he would deliver me from the dangers and perils 
of the journey I mounted him and whipped away and "/i th- 
in a short time had accomplished the task of the journey, 
07k1 my experience was not out of the ordinary as I did not 
encounter any kind of bea'^'t or animals but carrying fresh 
meat in those days through the country a foot or horsebacK 
m.ade it very dangerous as the hills and forests was infested 
w*th many different animals, which were indeed dangerous. 



White Neighbors at Last! 91 

So I carried the food in one hand and the bridle reins in 
the other laying close to my ponies back, and you may know 
that no grass grew under his feet until we stood again at 
the door of the little log house, and as I entered the mother 
again embraced me and asked if I was not afraid, well I 
did not have much regard for the truth as I told her I was 
not, and at the same time during the trip as I thought of 
the dangers to which I had exposed my life from animals 
and wild beasts several times my hair stood on end that it 
seemed to me I would lose my hat. And as I sat in the 
room, I could not enjoy my stay, even the presence of the 
little girl and her conversation with me was not sufficient to 
console me. Nevertheless I believed and thought of her as 
my intended, but knowing that I had left sister and little 
brother yonder alone in the little log hut exposed to many 
dangers I felt that I must return that night. I arose from 
my seat walked out got on my pony and for some time I 
stood there thinking it all over realizing in my heart that 
the trip would be one of the greatest and most dangerous 
adventures of my life. First of all because of the intense 
darkness and the country being strange to my pony, he 
might stray and wander away from the direction and become 
bewildered and lost which would have no doubt meant my 
death and likely my pony. But there was one friend in this 
most crucial hour that I could depend upon as my friend 
and that was my little Spanish horse. So I thrust my heels 
into his sides and we disappeared in the darkness of the 
forest passing out of the forest and valley making our way 
around the foothills of a large mountain. The night was 
never darker. We passed out upon a small glade of prairie. 
We were now traveling to the east with the light of the moon 
just breaking forth low on the eastern skies, and as we 
were passing out of the prairie into the forest there grew 
to our right a very large cluster of brush known as shu- 
make. The moon was just rising and as we drew near 
to the brush, all at once my pony became frightened and my 
attention was drawn to a very peculiar noise that could be 
heard in the midst of the brush. The noise was like that 
of a saw being drawn through dead timber. I noticed in 
the moonlight a dim outline, which at the time I believed 



92 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

to be a lion and as he approached us he could clearly be 
seen as he made his leaps toward us, he came within a few 
feet and then crouching to the ground in a springing posi- 
tion it seemed to me that my pony was going to lay down 
as no doubt he was so frightened for a time he completely 
gave away in his limbs, when all at once it seemed he came 
to himself, and I have always believed as the animal sprang 
toward us the pony made his leap for life which carried us 
to safety and no doubt delivered us from the mouth of a 
blood thirsty anim.al, and it is needless for me to say, that 
if there ever was a boy that rode an animal in a flight for 
life, it was the rider on this occasion when the little black 
horse in his flight leaving behind him the dreaded beast, 
the blood thirsty Mexican lion. I have always believed that 
the pony made his spring as the animal made his, which 
caused the animal to miss his mark. So it was only a few 
minutes when I was safe again enclosed in the little log 
house, sitting by the fire relating to Sister my experience 
and narrow escape from death, and it is needless to say that 
such an experience would teach a boy of my age, while liv- 
ing in a country wild and infested with many different and 
dangerous animals, and when the sun had gone down and 
the darkness of the night had called forth these animals 
from their daylight homes, that the place of safety was at 
home in the little log house with the doors closed about 
him. 

My vi-'its thereafter to the home of the little girl and to 
see the family were always between suns, until the settling 
up of the country by the white race, which gave to all great- 
er chances and far reaching possibilities. 

It is impossible for anyone to understand how the appear- 
ance of the white man and the coming of civilization af- 
fected both man and beast in the lands of the Southwest, 
unless one might have experienced every change from the 
country's infancy to this present day of civilization, as did 
the writer. 

Well I must get back to my story. The night is now past. 
That morning I arose early knowing that we had but little 
to eat, I took my gun and dog and started out. My gun was 
one of the old time war muskets ; my dog was a very large 



White Neighbors at Last! 93 

British Bull. In tho.'^e days it was not necessary to spend 
hours in search of game, it could be seen at all times and 
in every direction, however it was somewhat difficult to 
get hold of as such a thing as a high powered long range 
gun was not to be had or found among the Indians. Well 
that morning was a lucky one for Bulger and me, as we 
had not gone far until I noticed a very large deer standing 
concealed behind some bru'=h. Only some part of it was 
visible. I could not tell except I knew it was a deer. I 
raised my gun and' fired planting a bullet almost directly 
through its heart, which is considered a deadly shot. But 
instead of falling lifeless, it must have run a distance of sev- 
eral hundred yards and then fell dead. Then came the task 
of removing its skin and getting it home as we had a dis- 
tance of a mile or more to go, but as we had what is known 
to the Indian as the hunting knife, which the Indians had 
made and given to brother and me, we proceeded to remove 
the skin and in a short time had accomplished the task. We 
then divided the body in several pieces, secured .^ome hick- 
ory bark, climbed a tree and tied the part that we were un- 
able to carry home high up in the tree. We made several 
trips before we finally got it safe and secure in our little log 
hut, which gave us plenty of meat for several weeks, and 
as we had on hand plenty of Soffaka corn and some meal I 
could go about my work satisfied, knowing that we had 
some food on hands. 

So I spent the balance of the week at my usual task 
looking after and taking the best of care of Sealum, the 
little horse, and the little cornfield. There was but little 
in those days that anyone could do, but the methods and 
ways of making and securing a living had to be as faith- 
fully attended to as in our day. There were thousands of 
disadvantages that confronted the people of the early days, 
in making a living that the people of our day have no 
knowledge of whatsoever, and would not endure at all, if 
they were called upon to do so. 

May I set forth just here some of the things that the 
people suffered and endured in order to live, and to secure 
food. First of all they lived in a country desolate and un- 
inhabited. Food, such as the civilized world used, was not 



94 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

to be had. Only wild meats, fish, and Soffaka corn were 
available. Such a thing as seasoning for food was not 
thought of by the Indian. Their food was prepared and 
eaten without grease or salt. Occasionally salt was secured 
by soaking a small portion of the earth from the deer lick 
in water over night, and then using the water for making 
bread, and often meat was soaked over night in it, and in 
this way a small portion of salt in food was enjoyed. But 
this was only practiced by the early settlers, the white race. 
If it had not been for the Indians who so often aided and 
assisted us in every way, and our little log hut that furn- 
ished a shelter from the rain and snow and cold winds of 
winter the old stick and dirt chimney in which the kind 
and friendly old Indian so often built the fire that furn- 
ished us warmth and comfort, we would have no doubt 
perished from hunger and exposure. 

iSo the week passed but it was indeed a long one to me 
for there was scarcely an hour passed that I was not 
thinking of the good mother who came to me the Sunday 
before putting her arm about me, and wept out of a heart 
of thanks and gratitude to me, for the little and kind ser- 
vice that I had rendered to them, and I could not refrain 
from thinking of the father and the little girl as they sat 
by the fireside enjoying a breakfast that consisted only of 
roasted corn. This was hard for me to endure for I knew 
that I had the Sunday before taken them just a small 
amount of food, some meat and Soffaka corn. 

So the week passed at last and Sunday morning came. 
I arose early and Sister prepared breakfast, I ate, and 
mounted my pony and was off on my journey for the little 
log hut to see the family once more, and especially the little 
girl in whom I was greatly interested. I took with me some 
Soffaka corn and a part of a deer that I had killed during 
the week, which they enjoyed and greatly appreciated when 
I arrived, for their condition and need of food was just 
as I had expected. They had scarcely anything to eat. They 
had a "mall bit of corn that some Indian or negro had 
given them while in camp near the Canadian river, and 
as they did not understand how a food out of corn was 
made known as Soffaka, they prepared and ate the corn by 



White Neighbors at Last! 95 

roasting it. So I went to work and prepared a quantity of 
the corn by placing it in water and in a few days it would 
soften and sour, and in this way it could be used or served 
for food. 

And as I sat that afternoon in the little log hut, and 
talked to the girl. Miss Marguerite, I wondered and thought 
of her as being the only white girl in all the wide, wide 
world, for the world to me in those days was only the ra- 
dius of a few miles. I only knew a small area of country 
of hills and valleys which I roamed, which was all the world 
I knew, and a country that meant in those days every thing 
to me. The little girl of this family was the first white girl 
I had ever seen, and as I sat there I wondered if it was 
not true that the hope of the white race depended on her 
and me, and if I hadn't better try to make her my wife. 

But as the days and month,'^ passed and a few years 
rolled by that memorable and famous day came, the open- 
ing of the country, April 22, 1889, when the country be- 
gan to be settled up slowly in colonies, often many miles 
apart, which opened up a better condition and greater pos- 
sibilities for the people. It was then the father, mother and 
little girl moved and located within a half a mile of our 
home, and it was here in a one roomed log house they lived 
for four years during which time many white families 
moved into the country, settling near us, among them a 
number of young men and young ladie^^. From these early 
pioneer settlers came forth the beginning of civilization 
and society in Oklahoma. While it is true the little girl 
and I had agreed some day to become not only sweethearts 
but man and wife, the coming of civilization and society, 
and the presence of so many young men and young women 
in the country, completely changed our life, and as the 
country settled and grew we were completely separated 
and lost from each other. After the opening of the country, 
the conditions and oportunities afforded me by my own' 
race of people as to the question of marriage were "uch 
that I finally gave up all hope of Miss Marguerite and me 
becoming man and wife. However, it is true in after years 
she married a very refined and cultured gentleman, a man 
of wealth, a druggist, a citizen of Oklahoma. 



CHAPTER VI. 
The Opening of Oklahoma. 

Here is a brief history of some of the things that trans- 
pired in the Southwest, beginning in the early days be- 
fore civilization had come to make the Indian Territory 
and Oklahoma, the one great state, in which over a million 
people make their homes today. This book tells of a time 
when many changes were being made, when the old order 
of things was forced to give way to the new, and the farm 
took the place of the great ranches. This book also tells 
when the country was opened for settlement on April 22, 
1889, and men, women and children from all over the 
United States were present on this occasion. They had 
come to make their homes in the West. Many of them 
staked their claims the day of the famous run, took their 
plows from their wagons, put up a tent or made a dugout 
and contented themselves at home. 

In a few days they began to turn the sod that for cen- 
turies had felt only the hoofs of the buffalo and the In- 
dian ponies but which later became the grazing ground of 
countless herds of cattle. It was a country wild, yet in 
many respects beautiful and untamed. For years it had been 
the abiding pla:e of cattlemen and cowboy. With all the 
freedom that soul could desire, they did not expect to see 
the country taken from them. These men were all lovers 
of the free life of the boundless prairie. And when the 
settlers came it was from the most daring of these that the 
gangs which for many years terrorized the citizens of 
Oklahoma and the Indian Territory were formed. It has 
been said that the Southwest, especially Oklahoma and the 
Indian Territory before being opened for settlement, was 
the hiding place for bad men from all over the country. 
As it was the last of the frontier, it was the belief that 
bad men fled into it from everywhere, and it was true to 
some extent. But the bad men of the Southwest were cattle 

(96) 



The Opening of Oklahoma 97 

and horse thieves of the Territory and from among those 
01 the early settlers. Yes they were bad men, some of them 
were daring gun'=men, but these horse and cattle thieves 
as a rule did not become noted outlaws. However, nearly 
e;ery banciit and outlaw known in the Southwest had been 
a cowboy before he became a law breaker, and this is not 
a reflection on those who were cowpunchers in the early 
days, where a large majority of them became good citizens. 
But we make the statement because it is a fact. After they 
nacl committed all their depredations or had been killed or 
captured, it was revealed that they had been cowboys. 

As cowpunchers they had learned to ride and shoot and 
mo-^t of them did it well. They were at home in the saddle, 
and a Winchester in their hand, they were to be feared. 
As cowboys they had acquired more of the daredevil dare 
spirit than they had been endowed with by nature. It was 
for all cattlemen and cowboys to realize that their occupa- 
tion was going forever as the country gradually settled 
and as the great herds of cattle began to disappear. Some 
of them went to Arizona, others to the unfenced parts of 
the Southwest. Some of the cowboys went with their herds 
to parts unknown, seeking a frontier that was nowhere to 
be found. Some took claims and became farmers. We have 
many of them with us today living in their pleasant homes, 
rich in cattle and lands, the fruit of their own labors. Some 
became merchants and bankers, making their homes in 
cities and towns, later becoming leading men of the .state. 
They accepted the changed conditions and made the best 
of them. But a few could not bring their nature to the sub- 
jection of such a change from the wild free life to the kind 
that had come to surround them. They possessed the true 
spirit of the Old Southwest. They could not be tamed. Per- 
haps there had been a taint of the outlaw in them all along, 
but it did not come to the surface until the occasion called 
it forth. 

Many of them became cattle rustlers and hor^e thieves 
under the new order of things. They were the less venture- 
some ones, and many of them never rose above that occu- 
pation. Some were killed by officers, some were arrested 
and sent to the penitentiary, while still others were driven 



98 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

from the country. Some who had been cowboys in early 
days became outlaws and bandits, but they ran their course, 
one gang after another, and in the end all of them came 
to grief. The strong arm of the law reached out for them 
and took them in. Some ran longer than others, but in the 
end all of them came face to face with death or ended their 
life in prison cells. 

The main purposes of this book besides giving a truo 
history of events is to press upon its readers, the young 
men and boys, that there is never an inducement to become 
an outlaw or a law breaker in any way, even from a moral 
standpoint. It is not the right life to live nor the course 
to pursue by one who will stop to reason. From a financial 
standpoint, it is not as remunerative an occupation as that 
of a section hand or a day laborer of any kind; in the end 
it means death or imprisonment for life. 

This has always been true of those who engage in any 
kind of crime whether it be that of train robber or bur- 
glar or pickpocket or petty thief. In these pages is told the 
story of those who tried it and found it even so and landed 
where all others will if they follow the same course. Not 
one of the outlaws of the Southwest made more than a 
meager living while he followed the game. Many times they 
suffered for food and the bare necessities of life. Viewed 
from the distance of years, it may appear to have been 
picturesque but in reality it was a life full of terrors and 
hardships. The officers whose duty it became to break up 
these gangs of outlaws were also natives of the Southwest, 
they were used to a life in the open and when they went 
after the outlaw they took their lives in their hands. And 
they had to undergo just as many hardships and dangers 
as the outlaw, but they had justice and duty on their side. 
These officers were sent by the government to rid the coun- 
try of these inhuman red handed thieves and murderers, so 
it would be a safe place in which to live. It was a war cf 
extermination in which they were engaged for one side or 
the other, but the officers won at last. A number lost their 
lives in the undertaking but the others went on without 
faltering, because they were strong and relentless men. An 



The Opening of Oklahoma 99 

unpleasant duty before them and a hard task to perform 
but they did it well. 

The outlaws were hard to drive out of the country. 
There was no place for them to go ; if they went away for 
a time it was but to hide until the officers retired from their 
search for them and gave up the trail. Then they would 
return and commit seme other crime; it was a life filled 
with danger by day and by night; there was no way of 
knowing as an officer when they would be killed by am- 
bush, for these outlaws and bandits were all daredevils; 
they did not hesitate to kill, and many innocent lives were 
snuffed out by them without any excuse whatever. How 
well these officers did, how many dangers they faced and 
how at last they accomplished all they were sent to do 
is related in these pages. If these men had lived in our day 
they would have been heroes indeed and would have risen 
to the highest ranks of fame. They would have been known 
as men never to be forgotten if their work had been done 
in a day where their power and bravery could have been 
well known to the world. For the brave deeds done by 
these men and for their works' sake, their memory ought 
to be nourished sacred in the hearts of the coming gen- 
erations. These men were modest, and refined in charac- 
ter and when their work was finished they went back to a 
quiet occupation. Some of them are honored today in the 
land where they encountered so many dangers, but most 
of them have gone to their reward and are resting in some 
quiet place. They are forgotten heroes in the land where 
they served so well and for so little praise. Those of them 
that are still living are respected among the best citizens 
of the state, quiet and soft spoken men with nothing about 
them to indicate that they were the gun fighters with the 
law on their side. These men do not boast of the things 
they have done and yet it is true that it was them that 
made the Southwest for you and me and all law abiding 
citizens. No doubt they suffered untold hardships in open- 
ing the way and made it possible for a more prospered 
and cultured people to live. They wiped out the outlaw 
and bandits, and made him nothing more than a faint mem- 
ory. At the same time these men were accused of deeds 



100 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

and acts they would have scorned to commit. However, 
they were taking part in an object lesson for the benefit 
of generations to come; they were giving a living illustra- 
tion of the fact that honesty is always best, and that a 
criminal cannot succeed. "Honesty is the best polic5^" used 
to be written in the copy books but in the early days of 
Oklahoma and the Territory it had to be written in letters 
of blood, and this was the task that the government sent 
these men to do. And it is a matter of history that they 
did it well. 

May we now call our readers attention to that memor- 
able day, the opening of the Territory and Oklahoma for 
settlement. It was a wonderful event, and will doubtless be 
a memory to all those who witnessed it as one of the 
greatest days in the history of the country. Many places 
along the line of Texas and of the country about to be 
opened for settlement, many thousands of men and women 
from every state in the union, men and women of every 
degree of standing, and of every walk of life, both rich 
and poor, were among this number. Camped near the line 
they patiently waited, many of them exposed to rain and 
snow for days and weeks with scarcely any shelter at all, 
while others who were camped used tents and covered 
wagons, and small brush arbors were built, under which 
many families camped and patiently waited for the im- 
portant hour to come, when they would be permitted to 
make the run for a homestead and drive a stake on a 
hundred and sixty acres of land. 

This event in our country's history can never be for- 
gotten by the writer as we stood there and looked upon 
that long line of people on the day the run was to be made, 
some on foot and others on horseback ready to make the 
run at the sound of a gun. It was indeed exciting. When 
the gun sounded the run would have reminded you of an 
army of mad men rushing to battle. Many of them never 
reached their claim at all but died on the way. Those on 
horses paid but little attention to those on foot but ran 
over them and in a number of instances killed them. 

Now a« one beholds a scene like this, it is indeed hard to 
understand the condition of the minds of the people in a 



The Opening of Oklahoma 101 

time like this. I do not think it can be explained or under- 
stood. Men and women on that occasion no doubt put their 
lives in jeopardy, and this could be clearly seen before the 
time arrived for it seemed they had lost all reason and 
judgment except to achieve and to attain the purpose for 
which they had long waited and suffered many privations, 
and that was that they might drive a stake on a few acres 
of land that they might call their home. 

Now, as far as one could see the run was on, and along 
the line there could be seen men and women here and there 
falling, and occasionally screams could be heard, and horses 
stumbling and falling and leaping headlong from bluffs, 
and from ledges of rock projecting out along the moun- 
tain side. After the run many horses and men and women 
were found dead, wounded and dying. Oftimes two men 
would enter the same claim and drive their stakes. Of 
course this meant trouble and no one being present to 
settle the dispute, it often resulted in death of one or the 
other. They fought it out. The best man got the claim, the 
other one was often never heard of. The sweet dreams and 
long pursuit of these people, the early Boomers of Okla- 
homa, became nightmares of disappointment'^. Many of 
them had waited for weeks and months in rain and snow 
for the important hour to come, but in only a few days 
after the opening and the run was made the country was 
almost forsaken; only a few families and persons here and 
there could be found camping on their claims. There could 
be found occasionally someone digging a dugout or build- 
ing a sod house. By many of them every possible effort 
was made to stay with their claims, but in many cases their 
efforts were in vain because it was impossible to undergo 
the hardships and sufferings that the conditions of the 
country inflicted upon them thus making it practically im- 
po'^sible for them to stay with their claims, and they dis- 
appeared from the country. The trains were unable to ac- 
commodate this vast multitude of immigrants who doubt- 
less came from all parts of America, on their return to 
their homes. Many of them, after returning, disposed of 
their claims, trading or selling them oftimes for a mere 
trifle. Those who purchased the claims better understood 



102 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

the ccnditions of the country, they equipped themselves 
with the necessities of life and the means to develop the 
country. They brought wagons, teams, milk cows, and many 
of them brought a whole years supply to enable them to 
make their first crops. 

The people of the Southwest, especially the early settlers 
of Oklahoma and the Indian Territory, could not have 
lived alone in a life of selfishne'^s as the people of our day, 
but as long as one had the necessaries of life he divided 
with those in need. This spirit of cooperation and helping 
each other in the most trying hour in the history of any 
people was no doubt the conquering and prevailing spirit 
that opened the door of the wild and uninhabited and 
desolate lands of the Southwest to a civilized world, and 
set the country's feet into the path of progress and pros- 
perity and success. 

The people of the early days of the country had a heart 
that beat for each other and not alone for the almighty 
dollar. Dear reader, if you would fully understand true 
friendship and cooperation you ought to study the lives 
and the methods of the early settlers of the Southwest, 
how they suffered untold privations and oftimes would 
welcome the pangs and horrors of death for their friend 
and neighbor. 

It was not safe for people to settle miles from each 
other, the country was more or less settled in colonies. 
Oklahoma could have never been settled by the white race 
except in this way. People living in settlements or colonies 
assisted each other in the necessaries of life and protected 
each other and their families against the invading enemy. 
In this way Oklahoma was finally settled. It was indeed 
difficult with the early settlers in securing food and sup- 
plies and the marketing of their farm products. Oftimes 
there could be seen fifteen to twenty wagons in one train 
headed for the states seeking a market for the product of 
their year's labors. The nearest market was Fort Smith, 
Ark., or Denison, Texas, a distance of a hundred and fifty 
to two hundred and fifty miles. It would often require a 
month or more to make the trip. We will remember that 
the people of those days were greatly handicapped in trav- 



The Opening of Oklahoma 103 

eling, especially in wagons, as there were no roads, only 
trails largely created by outlaws and bandits who traveled 
largely on horseback. Those who traveled in wagons, 
traveled by directions, but generally some one who knew 
the country piloted them on their journey, a native negro 
or an Indian on horseback. In coming upon obstacles such 
as rivers or creeks, hills or mountains, the horses or cattle 
were removed from the wagon, the wagon torn down, dis- 
mantled, carried piece by piece over the obstacle together 
with the cargo, then put together and loaded and the jour- 
ney was resumed. This incident was often repeated before 
the journey was completed. 

We the citizens of Oklahoma of today that enjoy the 
blessed sunlight of civilization and all that makes life worth 
while, the great state of Oklahoma with all her wealth, great 
cities, railroads, schools and with her inhabitants of over 
a million people owe it all to the first and early settlers 
who lived in the dugout and little sod houses. We owe to 
them honor and respect we will never be able to pay, but 
there should be in the hearts of all a memory and respect 
for them, as heroes of the Southwest who, by their suffer- 
ing untold privations, opened the door and made it possible 
for Oklahoma and the Indian Territory to be what it is 
today. It is no doubt the fruit of their life's work that 
lives today, not only in the mind and heart of their fellow 
countrymen but the country with all it has and means 
today. Its inhabitants are no doubt a living monument to 
these heroes, and respect and love for them should be kept 
fresh and fragrant and sacred in the hearts of the rising 
generation while they cease to be and many of them have 
passed to their reward beyond. Their life and work must 
still live and not be forgotten. 

Those of us who come here forty or fifty years ago have 
seen and witnessed the building of every city, town and 
village, school and church and every enterprise, great or 
small, brought about, and as we contrast the condition of 
the country of today with that of forty years ago we are 
made to wonder at the art of man in building and accom- 
plishing. It seems almost the impossible has been done. But 
we are made to wonder at times, was it man at la''t that 



104 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

accomplished the task or was he only a tool that was lead 
by some invisible hand, a supernatural power? No doubt 
to Him the preserver of life, the ruler and creator of all 
things, we ought to give the credit and honor for our coun- 
try with all its happiness and possibilities. 

We can look back to the hour when we stood on the 
ground that many of our cities cover today when there 
could only be seen a few scattering timbers, a native grass 
called the blue grass, with its growth from five to six feet 
in height. Droves of deer could be seen in the distance 
feeding in the valleys and along the mountain slope and 
wild turkeys in great numbers could be seen. We have 
witne'^sed every change of the country from its infancy, 
from the hour that the soil had only known and felt for past 
centuries the hoof of the buffalo and the Indian pony to 
this present day. 

And as we have mentioned above, the country forty 
years ago was only the land of the outlaw and heathen In- 
dian, not a school nor a church, in all the country; there 
could be found but two ministers. Rev. Mr. Blake who was 
sent by the government to the Indian as a teacher in the 
government school and Rev. Mr. Roe, a Presbyterian mis- 
sionary who was ''ent by the Presbyterian church among 
the Indians in 1865. A country with these two men in it 
as educators and missionaries among a vast population of 
the heathen Indians, the beginning of civilization, the dawn 
of a new day to the Indian race of people that had been 
for centuries kept in darkness, superstitousness and heath- 
enism. It is wonderful when we think how the civilized 
world once looked upon Oklahoma as only the land of the 
outlaw and the uncivilized Indian, the outlaw and bandit, 
many of whom had escaped from justice from almost every 
state in the union and had come to make Oklahoma his 
abiding place and refuge. And because of his presence in 
the country and his operations in and out of the territory 
the territory was looked upon by the civilized states as a 
menace to their welfare and civilization. This was one 
reason the United States government was forced to open 
the country for settlement over the protest of the Indian 
and to break its treaty with them that they should own 



The Opening of Oklahoma 105 

and control the country as long as grass grew and water 
run. The Indian was not or never has been capable intel- 
lectually of understanding the good intention and friend- 
liness of the government toward them in opening the 
countiy for settlement. This act of the government in open- 
ing the country was the only hope of the Indian race of 
people, making it possible for them to associate their lives 
with the white race and surround them externally with a 
condition and a life of civilization they gradually ab-? orbed 
through education and otherwise civilized ideas, and gradu- 
ally they have laid aside the blanket and breechclout, toma- 
hawk and scalping knife and today they are looked upon 
and recognized as one of the cultured and intelligent races. 

Isn't it wonderful what can be achieved and accomplish- 
ed in a few short years? Yet at the same time the early 
life and customs of the Indian in many ways have proven 
a great blessing to the white race, especially to the early 
settlers of Oklahoma. For instance, near the little log hut 
built by the Indian found on the hillside or in the midst 
of a cluster of trees invariably plenty of water could be 
found. The question of water was the greatest problem 
that confronted the early settlers. A satisfied and contented 
Indian was one with his little log hut in which to live, 
wood and water, his bow and arrow and wild game. This 
is indeed true of the Indian of years ago. While no doubt, 
as we have said before, the opening of the country for 
settlement by the white race of people has proven to be 
the greatest blessing that could have come to the Indian, 
especially the younger generation, the association of the 
life of the white man who is the pathfinder to civilization 
and born in supremacy of all other races was no doubt 
the only hope of a real life of happiness and prosperity as 
a race of people. And a chance has been given them to 
make good and they have done so, as no other race of 
people in the world in the same length of time. 

A number of years ago we had a friend, a minister of 
the gospel. At that time he was chaplain of the senate of 
the state of Oklahoma. Visiting the capitol, he invited us 
to visit him one afternoon. While sitting in the senate 
chamber I noticed a full blood Indian was a member of 



106 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

this body. My attention was especially drawn to him while 
he was speaking in support of a bill that was before the 
body. I asked the chaplain, Dr. Ray, if he knew the Indian. 
He had never met him, personally, but expressing my de- 
sire to meet him, the minister assured me he would make 
it possible. I told him that I was deeply interested in an 
Indian that could speak as he had and could hold a posi- 
tion that he was holding. So after the Senate had adjourned 
my friend and I went at once and met the Indian. I ask 
him of what tribe he was. He said he was a Seminole. Then, 
after exchanging a few words with him, to my surprise 
I learned that we played together when only boys. But 
this is not out of the ordinary for the Indian of today, as 
hundreds have accomplished and have achieved high posi- 
tions in life. 

The white race doubtless would appreciate more and more 
the Indian race of people if we would only think of them 
fifty years ago. Scarcely one could be found that could 
read or write among the five civilized tribes. There is not 
a race of people in the world that has made the progress 
and success toward enlightment and civilization as the In- 
dians have made in the last twenty-five years. It is, indeed, 
wonderful. When we think of it we mu'?t acknowledge that 
the world's histories do not record such wouderful progress 
by another race of people in the world. 

One hundred years ago the Indian would commit and did 
commit crimes that make the civilized world shudder when 
they think of it. Yet in the face of these facts when we 
think of them today as the one race of people that commits 
less crimes than any other people in the world it is more 
wonderful still. 

Something more might be said of the Indian that would 
be interesting to the readers and that is that some Divine 
Hand must have led and protected the Indian in all his 
wild and savage life. We cannot believe that a heathen 
race could have shrouded in mystery to the civilized world 
their manner of life and work in the centuries of the past 
unless the all seeing eye of God has ever been beholding 
them and his grace and love has ever been with them. 

It is to be remembered that the Indian in his wild and 



The Opening of Oklahoma 107 

savage life was different from any other race of people. 
There were a hundred or more different tribes ox the 
American Indian, many of them speaking a different lan- 
guage, and as foreign to each other in their ways and 
customs of living as was their language. However they 
differed but little as to the life beyond. It is well known 
that most all heathen races of people are worshiper? of 
idols, made of various kinds of metals. The Indian did not 
bow his knee to an idol or an image as his God. The white 
race has never understood the Indian as to his conception 
of God and eternal life, but after learning to speak their 
language and converse with them on this subject you may 
better understand what tliey believe as to life beyond death. 
They believed in the invisible spirit, the great spirit, that 
leads them through life and safely guides and protects 
them against their enemies in their war career and even 
through death untO' the happy hunting ground, their haven 
of rest. For this reason the Indian buried with their dead 
the scalping knife, tomahawk and pony, they believed that 
they would have need of them in their life beyond. 

History 'speaks of some few tribes that worshipped the 
sun, moon and stars, fire, wind and water, in this we will 
notice that they had in some way a slight knowledge of the 
Trinity: the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It has 
been a mystery to the civilized world why there were so 
many different tribes of Indians, especially speaking a dif- 
ferent language, and each language original with the tribe. 
The five civilized tribes, the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, 
Osage and Creeks have always been the prominent and 
leading tribes ; many of the smaller tribes have been ex- 
tinct for years. Because of their savage and warlike spirit 
they could not bring themselves to submit to a higher de- 
gree of life and civilization, but they chose death rather 
than to submit, bow and kiss the hand that smote them, 
which they believed to be their enemy, the white man, 
who at last proved to be their only friend. But one of the 
most warlike and dangerous tribes that ever lived, the 
hardest to conquer, who stayed on the warpath longer and 
gave the early settlers of Texas and the Southwest more 
trouble, was doubtless the Comanches. History does not 



108 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

record a tribe of Indians that was so inhuman and brutal 
as the Comanche in their methods of punishing and mur- 
dering their victims. All wild and savage Indians had a 
method of torturing and punishing their victims; some 
would bind them to a stake then burn them; others would 
lacerate the body; while others would remove their scalp; 
and the victim would gradually bleed to death. Oftimes the 
Indian would take some wild animal, place a rope around 
the neck of their enemy then to the tail of the animal and 
turn it loose in the open country. But no doubt the most 
cruel and inhuman act ever committed by human hand 
against another in the history of the world was committed 
by these heartless Comanche Indians when punishing or 
taking the life of any one of the white race, especially an 
infant. They would remove its garments, then take a stake, 
sharpen it, set it in the ground with the sharp end up- 
ward, place the child in blanket or the skin of an animal, 
throw it high above the stake. Coming down upon the 
sharpened stake the body was pierced to death. The reader 
will recall among the early settlers of West Texas, it was 
very dangerous and almost impossible for a white man to 
live, as this section of the country was the roaming ground 
of the Comanche Indian, which made it unsafe for travel- 
ers unless accompanied by Texas Rangers. It was one af- 
ternoon as the sun was sinking and the darkness of the 
night was fast settling down upon a father, mother, and 
little daughter. In a few hours they were attacked by these 
Indians. The father and mother were left lifeless upon the 
lonely and boundless prairie. They took the little girl and 
'led and were ^oon secure in the hills and mountains of the 
Southwest. She is known in history as Cintha Ann Parker, 
and just how she ever escaped death at the hand of these 
inhuman and heartless Indians will never be known. His- 
tory tells us that she was the mother of Quannah Parker, 
the last chief of the Comanche Indians. But later in years 
she was recaptured and taken from these Indians, but she 
had lived with them until her life and ways and manner of 
living were that of the Indian. It was said by those who 
captured her that she could not be taken until she was bound 
hand and foot and taken back to her native state, Texas. 



The Opening of Oklahoma 109 

And before her death she became a very refined and e'=;- 
teemed character and a loyal citizen. History does not 
record the name of the person or persons who recaptured 
her, and for this reason we are not in possession of facts 
as to who captured her that the names might be furnished 
to our readers. However, it might be truthfully said that 
Capt. L. Rows and others of his company captured her, 
and yet this has been repudiated by some who said he was 
not within forty miles of the place the day of her capture. 

Now, in conclusion of this chapter, and we realize that 
we are digressing somewhat, please allow us to say that 
there is no living person or historian of the past among 
the Indians or Caucasion race of people that can give us 
any information whatsoever as to the origin of the In- 
dian, and what we have to say concerning them is only a 
speculation. We are not making an argument in what we 
have to say, but I hope that I may open a field for thought. 

Now, there is an account given in the Scriptures of twelve 
tribes of the children of Israel, and we are taught in the 
Bible that one of the tribes was lost and never accounted 
for. We notice the word tribe or tribes is frequently 
used in the Scriptures when speaking of the children of 
Israel. Now, the origin of this v/ork in speaking of the 
Indian we have no history of it. But the word tribe is 
used and applied to the Indian by the white race of people 
to separate and to designate them from each other, and it 
was also true in speaking of t'le children of Israel. There- 
fore, we often wonder if it could be possible that the In- 
dian was the lost tribe of Israel. 

Let us remember that it has been nearly four thousand 
years =ince the beginning of the twelve tribes of Israel, and 
only since the fourteenth century that the Caucasion race 
knew anything of the American continent. And if it be true 
that such a country as the Amreican continent was un- 
known to the civilized world for over five thousand years, 
is it not possible that there could have been many great 
changes on land and sea, that we have no record of or 
never will have as a matter of history? Could there have 
been a time in the last four thousand years that the Pacific 
and the Atlantic oceans did not meet and completely encir- 



110 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

cle the American continent. But there might have been an 
isthmus which connected the two countries by which the lost 
tribes of Israel passed over and afterwards by an earth- 
quake or an upheaval united the two oceans, forever separ- 
ating and isolating these people from the old world. We 
a'^k your consideraticn as to this matter. 



CHAPTER VIL 
The History of the Seminoles. 

I would now call your attention to some very important 
happenings and events that took place among this tribe of 
Indians while the writer spent eighteen years of his life 
with them. The writer's personal knowledge of this tribe 
of Indians, if he would write all in detail concerning them, 
would make a large volume in itself. But, it is our only 
purpose to give to our readers the most important and in- 
teresting events and happenings and practices among these 
Indians and I believe the many things that I may bring 
forth or portray upon these pages is indeed historical and 
will be appreciated and nourished as sacred in the hearts 
of coming generations. 

It seems to me that those who have attempted to write 
stories or books or even history writers as to the Indian 
have failed to give to those who have longed for a true 
knowledge of the Indian's life and practice. Now as we have 
in other chapters of this book brought to light and portray- 
ed in a general way the life and practice of the wild and 
modern Indian. I want to confine these few pages to the 
life and practice of the Seminole tribe, but may I say just 
here that the most interesting and valuable reading for the 
coming generations will be the life and practice of the wild 
and modern Indian and the primitive days of Oklahoma, 
and the early settling of the country by the white race. On 
these few pages we are not writing a story, as we have in 
other parts of this book, but will, if possible, give to our 
readers in detail a short history of the Seminole Indian. 

First, I will call your attention to the life of their noble 
chief, who was known to all the country as Governor Brown. 
His father was a white man, a government physician, sent 
by the government among the Indians in the early fortie^! or 
fifties. Doctor Brown married a full blood Seminole In- 
dian and to this union several children were born, who no 

(111) • 



112 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

doubt became the most noted characters and prominent and 
influential of all this tribe of Indians. This great and noble 
man lived for many years among this people and sacrificed 
his life as a physician. He lived to a ripe old age and passed 
to his reward beyond some time in the seventies. He died 
in or near the city that is now known as Wagoner, Okla- 
homa, and was no doubt buried in that place. 

In the seventies the chief lived in a small twc-room, log 
house. This log hut was built as all other Indian huts with 
its stick and dirt chimney, with an iron rod built into the 
fire place on which to roast his meats. In this little hut 
he lived for many years. In front of it stood two very 
large, beautiful trees the shade of which he so often en- 
joyed as he rested from his daily toils. Now, as to his 
wealth at this time, he no doubt was as poor and needy 
as any one of his tribe. I think his furniture consisted like- 
ly of a small stool to sit on ; his bed of sage grass and cov- 
ering of some animal skins ; his food of wild meats and Sof- 
faka corn. However, this Indian chief had many advan- 
tages over his people ; one especially. He was not a full 
blood Indian ; he had been educated in the schools of the 
north and knew the life and practice of the white race of 
people which gave him an advantage that few Indians in 
the world had. 

And let me say, too, that he never wasted an opportunity 
to improve every hour or day to make life worth living. He, 
no doubt, did more to Christianize and educate and civilize 
his own people than any other Indian chief that ever lived. 
He was considered by all who knew him as one of the most 
refined and cultured characters of his day. His equal as a 
business man and a financier was not to be found among 
the five civilized tribes. Though this Indian chief lived in 
this little log hut, the most of his early life, in the midst of 
all difficulties and disadvantages that the pioneer and prim- 
itive days of the wild and uninhabited Territory that was 
then only the land of the heathen Indian and the bandit and 
outlaw, he conquered and rose above it all, and was con- 
verted to the Christian religion, was ordained to the full 
work of the ministry and did a great work among his own 
people, and after the opening of old Oklahoma and the set- 



The History of the Seminoles 113 

tling of it by the white race and the government of the 
United States began to pay each one of these Indians a pro- 
portionment of money due them from the government, which 
opened up a financial possibility throughout the country, 
this Indian chief in a few short years became a millionaire 
and established one of the largest general merchandise bus- 
inesses in all the country. This place of business was lo- 
cated one mile west of the little town known today as Sa- 
sakwa, Oklahoma, located on the Frisco railroad in the Sem- 
inole Nation. The house in which this business was oper- 
ated was a very large building sixty by eighty feet. The ma- 
terial of the building was hauled from Muskogee, Oklahoma. 
The value of stock of this business was said to be more than 
thirty thousand dollars. There was eight to ten men at work 
in this business. 

This Indian chief operated this business until the Frisco 
railroad was built through his nation and the little town 
of Sasakwa was built. Then he moved to this place and built 
one of the largest business houses in all that section of 
the country, and he, himself, retired* from business, leaving 
it with one of his sons who operated it for a number of 
years. This Indian chief and his brother, Jackson Brown, 
were also interested in a very large business at Wewoka 
in this Nation. It was no doubt through the financial aid 
and the assistance of these two Indians that the town of 
Wewoka is what it is today. Jackson Brown, the brother of 
this Indian chief, located at Wewoka in the seventies, living 
in a small log hut located a few feet south of where the 
Rock Island depot now sets, and for years he operated a 
small business in a small frame building built of native lum- 
ber. It was located fifty or seventy-five yards northeast of 
where the Rock Island depot now sets. He operated this 
business until the Rock Island railroad was finished through 
the Seminole Nation, then, together with his brother, the 
chief, they built one of the largest business houses in all the 
Southwest at this little town of Wewoka. 

Jackson Brown was also a very fine business man and a 
very devoted Christian, and became very wealthy before he 
died. After this Indian became converted to the Christian 
religion, he headed a delegation of Christian workers and 



114 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

went to Florida and there preached the Gospel to many of 
his own people that had never emigrated to this country and 
who knew nothing of Christ at all. 

In eighteen and ninety six, this Indian chief built for him- 
self and family a magnificent home at a cost of many thou- 
sands of dollars and even the furnishing of this home ran 
into the thousands of dollars. So after the Rock Island rail- 
road was finished and the little town of Wewoka was in- 
habited by a few hundred people, Jackson Brown moved 
and made his home in what was known as the old Govern- 
ment Rock Building, built sometime in the eighties. Here he 
lived until the house became dangerous and condemned. 
This house today is completely destroyed, nothing can be 
seen of these old buildings except the rock walls of the gov- 
ernment stables. 

From this place he moved to his home that is located in 
the south part of Wewoka and is known as the Jackson 
Brown home. It was here that he died a few years ago, 
leaving his widow and some children who occupy the home 
today. 

It was in 1919 that the Indian chief also died, leaving a 
widow and several children. It was in the year of 1919 just 
before the death of this chief that the writer had the pleas- 
ure of going back to his home where we played when only a 
boy a few years old. And just east of the house stands a very 
large oak tree that was only a small bush when the writer 
played around it. We had the happy privilege a few days 
before the death of this chief to sit down under this tree 
and talk with him. 

We believe if there is a man living today that can in- 
telligently and truthfully write a history of this Indian 
chief and his tribe it is the writer, as we came among this 
tribe of Indians when only a child and for twenty-five years 
we lived with them in their log huts and sage grass beds 
and our covering of animal skins and our food of wild meats 
and Soffaka corn. 

So we lived for many years with this Indian chief and 
knew him well. He was indeed a great man, not only among 
his own people but with the white race as well. When the 
government of the United States was contemplating the 



The History of the Seminoles 115 

opening of old Oklahoma and the Indian Territory for set- 
tlement this Indian Chief built a wire fence, completely 
around the Seminole Nation believing that if he would fence 
his nation that the Government would not open his nation 
for settlement. 

He also made several trips to Washington in behalf or 
defense of his people as to the opening of his nation. It 
was said that he in one of his speeches before the Senate he 
became so abrupt in his speech that he was taken outside 
of the Senate chamber until he regained his composure and 
then he was allowed to finish his speech that was said to be 
four hours or more in length. 

Now as to the life of this chief and his family, there is 
much to be said and much more could be said, but we do not 
feel that we ought to take space to say more just here, but 
allow me to say that just north of his home was a lovely 
apple orchard of several acres of ground, and under the 
shade of these lovely trees "bleeps the wife and a number of 
his family. Most all of the graves are covered with cement 
vaults. This grave yard is called the family grave yard cf 
Governor Brown of the Seminole tribe of Indians. 

The first building built in the town of Wev/oka was built 
by a Presbyterian missionary and was u'^ed for worship by 
a few members of that faith for a number of years. There 
is no signs of that building today except two or three trees 
that stood in the yard. There was also the old Indian 
Council house that was built in the year of seventy-six. The 
material in this hou'^e was hauled from Muskogee. The 
building had one room in it in which the Indians held their 
courts until the opening of old Oklahoma. Then another 
large building was built for court purposes which the In- 
dians used until the government took over the country and 
the Indian came under the laws of the United States, and 
Wewoka became the county seat. Then this house became 
the county court house, and it stands today. The Old Coun- 
cil house has been moved out in the re-^ident district of the 
city and a nice home made of it. However, in this house 
was not the first place that the Seminole Indian held their 
court. The place for their first council was under the shade 
and in the vard of one of their tribes one-half mile west of 



116 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

the town of Wewoka. The next place was the old stomp 
ground three miles south cf Wewoka. These places were 
used in the years of the sixties and the seventies. The old 
whipping tree also stood in front of the council house which 
was taken up and completely destroyed when a very large 
business house was built. There was another tree that was 
called the execution tree, which also stocd a short distance 
southwet of this council house by which the writer has 
witnessed the execution of a number of Indians and negroes. 
This tree was also taken up when another very large build- 
ing was built, but this tree was kept and can be seen in the 
historical department in the capitol building at Oklahoma 
City, Oklahoma. 

There was another building known as the Presbyterian 
mission. It was located three miles north of Wewoka. This 
building is standing today and is occupied by a family as a 
farm house. This was the first religious mission built in 
this nation. 

There was another mission built by the government in 
1875, located one mile north of Sasakwa. This building was 
used for a school building for a number of years for the 
Indians only. The teachers were employed by the govern- 
ment. This house was also used in later years for a resi- 
dence and was occupied by the writer's sister and family, 
but there is no sign of it today as it has been completely 
destroyed and moved away. It overlooked a great valley 
to the east, which was covered with a forest of timber, which 
in the early days of the country was the home of many kinds 
of animals and hundreds of wild turkey. Now as to this 
school, it amounted to but little, for at that time there were 
but few that could speak the English language — likely this 
chief's family and the writer's sister — and it was indeed dif- 
ficult to get these Indians interested in those days in schools 
or churches. They knew nothing of civilization or religion 
with very few exceptions. 

There was another place of worship, a small brush arbor 
located one mile east of Old Sasakwa and one mile west of 
New Sasakwa. This arbor was built by the Rev. Mr. Blake, 
a missionary and a school teacher that was sent to these 



The History of the Seminoles 117 

Indians by the government in 1884. At this time there 
were only six members of this church and they were all 
Indians. It was a Baptist church and for eighteen years 
their chief was their pastor. Today there are over two 
hundred members of this church, all Indians. No Indian 
of any tribe even after being converted to the Christian re- 
ligion was in their form of worship like the white race of 
people. The Indian met only once a year to serve God and 
then for three days. They came together from all over the 
country for this event and camped on the ground. 

The Seminole Indian, as a tribe, had no laws until about 
the year 1868 or 1870. Their statute of laws consisted of 
a very small book written in the Indian language their courts 
consisted of eight men as jurymen and officers known as 
light-horsemen. These officers would whip all found guilty 
of theft of any kind, and would also shoot all those condemn- 
ed to death. Their manner of punishing those guilty of theft 
or any minor crimes was to whip them with all clothing re- 
moved from their backs twenty-five lashes for each offense 
with a hickory well seasoned in the fire, from three to four 
feet in length. The first offense twenty-five lashes and 
twenty-five additional lashes for every crime committed 
and each twenty-five additional lashes for every crime com- 
mitted and each twenty-'five lashes were administered by a 
different officer. When whipping the criminal, they would 
tie his hands over a limb of a tree, then they would tie 
his feet together, then place a pole between his feet and 
two men sat on each end of the pole. This method would 
render the Indian helpless. If any one Indian committed 
six minor offenses he was shot to death. He was always 
shot to death for murder. In court sessions there were no 
lawyers, only the jurymen and the chief as judge of the 
court. The jury and the judge were to say as to the 
guilt or innocence of the criminal. If an Indian was 
sentenced to death and his execution set six months or a 
year in advance the Indian would always be on hand to die 
that day. He would not run away. This is a tradition 
handed down from their forefathers that they must die as 
a hero and a brave and not a coward. If they died as a 
coward their grave was removed from among their dead 



118 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

and they would never meet their tribe in the happy hunting 
ground where all Indians believed they would meet after 
death. 

So now let me say in conclusion as to the Seminole tribe 
that for many years they were known as the Lower Creek 
Indian, but after many years they were finally recognized 
as a separate tribe. 

It was in the year 1817 or 1818 that this tribe became in- 
volved in a great conflict with the United States. Though 
their country was of the Spanish territory, it was invaded by 
the American troops under Andrew Jackson. ^ Much of their 
territory was taken and many of their towns were des- 
troyed. The terms or treaty made with the Seminoles of 
Payne's Landing made in 1832 provides that this tribe was 
to move west of the Mississippi river, but through the in- 
fluence and leadership of their Chief they were led to break 
and repudiate that treaty, consequently a long bloody war 
followed, which caused the loss of thousands of lives of both 
the whites and the Indians. It was said that this war cost 
upward of $10,000,000 in money and it did not end until the 
year of 1842. Now shortly after the war, the Seminoles 
moved to the Creek Country in the southwest part of In- 
dian Territory. After they moved to the Creek Nation they 
became dissatisfied to such an extent that a reservation of 
lands were given them, known today as the Seminole na- 
tion. Let us remember that the Civil War was the cause of 
this tribe of Indians having to relinqui'^h a large part of 
their lands which lay between the two Canadian Rivers be- 
cause they rebelled against the government, so today their 
land is a very small body wh^'ch lies between the Creek na- 
tion ?nd Old Oklahoma twenty-five miles east and west, for- 
ty miles north and south. 

Now let us remember that forty or fifty years ago there 
was no law or church or schools or such a thing as civiliza- 
t'on or a civilized idea in the hearts of this people. Indeed, 
the Indian Territory was as desolate as the north star. As 
we, the people that inhabit the territory and Oklaboraa to- 
day look back to the days of forty years ago and think of 
the country as only the land cf the heathen Indian and the 
bandit and out law with not one road to be found, only 



The History of the Seminoles 119 

trails by which to travel ; not a house to be seen, only the 
Indian hut ; not a school or a church or a railroad or a town 
to be found in all the country, let us think of these Indians 
today and this great state of Oklahoma — the Indian with his 
refined and cultured mind and character, many of them 
school teachers, lawyers, and many of them holding state 
offices such as legislators. The State yf Oklahoma ranks 
along with the greatest states in the Union today. When 
we think of all its wealth and its great cities and its pop- 
ulation of over a million we are made to wonder at the 
work and art of man in such a short time in bringing about 
the conditions that the people of Oklahoma enjoy today. 
There is not a state in the United States that will excel it 
in its wealth and schools, churches and all kinds of insti- 
tution, its railroad system and great cities. We cannot be- 
lieve that man did this great work alone, but surely tTie 
invisible and omnipotent hand of God led in it all. 

Dear reader, will you stop and think a moment of this 
tribe of Indians thirty years ago. They did not have one 
civilized idea. The writer lived with them and lived as 
they lived. I was 17 years old the first time I ever heard 
a sermon preached. I never knew what a school house was 
until I was 19 years old. To impress you more fully as to 
the life and heathen condition of these Indians let me re- 
late that I have seen them punishing their criminals by 
whipping them when a puddle of blood would accumulate 
uiiUer their feet and their intestines would run out througi. 
the wounds. Oftimes many stitches were used in sewing 
up the wounds. It mattered not how severe the punish- 
ment was to the Indian, he never was known to cry out be- 
cause of pain, but would often gobble the war whoop and 
die in ten minutes. So with the conditions of those days 
as they were, we can no doubt appreciate the days in which 
we live in this great State of ours. 

It has been a few short years since the Seminoles and 
Creek Indians strongly believed in the tradition of their 
forefathers as to the death penalty, suffering it in honor 
of their tribe. The truthfulness of this statement is proven. 
When the Indian was sentenced to death and then given 
his complete liberty, when the day of execution came he 



120 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

was there without fail to die as ordered by the Court. He 
would often take his own handkerchief and blindfold him- 
self, sit down upon a rock with his back against a tree and 
die at the hands of lighthorsemen. They were willing to 
die and did die for all traditions kept and practiced by 
their forefathers. The Indian taught their children the only 
crime they could commit by which they would miss their 
haven of rest, the happy hunting ground, was to die a cow- 
ard. Perhaps our readers have often wondered why the 
wild Indian would fight his enemy to death. It was no 
doubt because he felt that it was an honor to die. They 
seemed to have no thought whatever what it meant to die. 
No doubt it has never dawned upon many of us that have 
studied the nature and disposition of the Indian that this 
is one of the wonders of the age. 



CHAPTER 8. 

A Short History of Various Tribes. The Origin and 

Meaning of Names. 

Alabama, here we rest; Arizona, Spanish-Indian, little 
creeks ; Arkansas, from a tribe of Indians ; California, Span- 
ish, hot furnace; Colorado, Spanish, red or muddy; Con- 
necticut, Indian, long river; Delaware, in honor of Lord 
Delaware; Florida, Spanish, blooming; Georgia, in honor 
of George II; Idaho, Indian, gem of the mountains; Illi- 
nois, Indian, the men ; Indiana, Indian, ground ; Iowa, In- 
dian, drowsy ones; Kansas, Indian, smoky water; Kentuc- 
ky, Indian, dark and bloody; Louisiana, in honor of Louis 
XIV ; Maine, the main land ; Maryland, in honor of queen 
Henrietta Marie; Massachusetts, the place of hills; Michi- 
gan, Indian, a weir of fish ; Minnesota, Indian, cloudy wat- 
er; Mississippi, Indian, great river, or father of waters; 
Missouri, Indian, great muddy ; Montana, Spanish, a moun- 
tain; Nebraska, Indian, shallow water; New Hampshire, 
Hampshire, England; New Jersey, in honor of governor 
of Jersey Island; New York, in honor of Duke of York; 
North Carolina, in honor of Charles II; North Dakota, 
Indian, allied; Ohio, Indian, beautiful river; Oklahoma, In- 
dian, land of the red man ; Oregon, Spanish, wild Marj Or- 
am; Pennsylvania, Latin, penn woods; Rhode Island, 
Rhodes, an island in the Aegean Sea; South Carolina, in 
honor of Charles II ; South Dakota, Indian, allied ; Tennes- 
see, Indian, river with a great bend ; Texas, from a tribe 
of Indians ; Utah, mountain dwellers ; Vermont, French, 
green mountains; Virginia, in honor of Elizabeth, the vir- 
gin queen ; Washington, after George Washington ; West 
Virginia, from Virginia; Wisconsin, Indian, wild rushing 
channel; Wyoming, Indian, extensive plain. 

The names of the leading tribes of the American Indian : 
Blackfeet, Cree, Montagnor, Micnor, Ottawa, Abenaki, 
Passamaquoddy, Pequoid, Mohegan, Lenape, Nanticoke, 
Powhatan, Miami, Sac, Fox, Kickapoo, Shawnee, Chippe- 
wa. Kutchin, Kenai, Tacullie, Umpqua, Hoopab, Apache, 

(121) 



122 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Navago, Lipan, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondago, Oneida, Mo- 
hawk, Tuscarora, Huron, Toltic, Astec, Chichimec, Pipile, 
Nicaras, Alaguilac, Itza, Tzendal, Quiche, Cakchiquel, Ma- 
ya, Huasteca, Quichwa, Amara, Assiniboin, Souix, Crow, 
Winnebago, Omaha, Mandan, Oto, Ponca, Osage, Kansas, 
Tutelo, Algcnkin, Oronquois, Dakota, Chata Muskoki, Cad- 
do, Kioway, Shoshonee, West Indian, Cherokee, Creek, 
Choctaw, Chickasaw, Temassee, Seminole, Pawnee, Aric- 
karee, Wishita, Ute, Comanche, Carib, Arawak, Tipi, Guar- 
ani, Mundurucu, Orara, Ticuma, Parentintin, Mura, Pur- 
upura, Pirc, Miranha, Caishana, Shian, Araphoo, Ponca, 
Quapaw, Tonkawa, Euchee, Lowa, Modoc, Huron, Tawako- 
ny, Keechi, Caddo or Kadohadacho, Apache, Piankeshaw. 
Peoria, Kaskaskia, Delaware, Arapaho, Cahokia, Cheyenne. 

These names are the names of the American Indians, as 
complete as you will be able to find them in any history 
that has ever been written. 

Now I believe that we have reached the place in the writ- 
ing of this book, in order to give the people a valuable piece 
of literature that the coming generation will appreciate and 
will not only read in the home but in the schools as well, 
that we must give a short history of many different tribes 
of Indians. We will first call your attention to the 

Cherokees. 

The home of the Cherokee Indian was no doubt in the 
mountains and valleys of the south in the states of Georgia 
and Tennessee, but more especially in Georgia. The Cher- 
okee has always been more or less of a refined character. 
They welcomed the coming of improvements, schools and 
civilization. When ere, Mr. Oglethorpe, settled in the state 
of Georgia the Cherokee was no doubt his friend. But after 
the establishment cf the government these Indians who had 
welcomed the coming of the white race and had been so 
friendly to them, began to suffer untold privations because 
of treaties and promises that had been made by the whites. 
Finally these Indians refused to concede any more of their 
lands to the white settlers, but on the other hand, demand- 
ed that the government of the United States protect them 



A Short History of the Various Tribes 123 

in all their rights. Now the fight was not between the 
whites and this tribe of Indians but between the govern- 
ment and the state of Georgia. For the government found 
itself unable to fulfill and keep its treaties with the Cher- 
okee Indian, so orders were given by the government that 
these Indians should be moved to a new home known as 
the Southwest. And let us remember at this time the Cher- 
okee Indians were indeed happy and very prosperous. 
Their country was no' doubt one of the most lovely portions 
of the United States, the climate was indeed delightful and 
healthful both summer and winter. In the plains and val- 
leys of this state the soil was rich and productive. The 
Soffaka corn grew as well as many other small grains. This 
tribe of Indians carried on considerable trade with adjoin- 
ing states by exporting their product down the Tennessee 
and Mississippi rivers. Let us also remember there could be 
found a number of apple and peach orchards, and often 
vegetables could be found on their tables. Now their new 
home in the Southwest known as the Cherokee Nation is 
one of the most productive and wealthiest sections in all 
the country. There can be found in this nation some of the 
leading cities of the Southwest. There abound vast coal 
beds and flowing oil wells, millions of acres of fine timber, 
thousands of acres of cotton lands, clover and alfalfa. On 
the hill slopes there can be seen acres of bee hives from 
which thousands of gallons of honey are sold each year. 
Many large factories are established, cotton and woolen 
cloth and blankets are manufactured by the hands of the 
Cherokees. Almost every family in this nation grows and 
harvests abundant crops, such as cotton, wheat, oats and 
corn, alfalfa, clover and many other small grains too num- 
erous to mention. The Cherokee Indian has never been hos- 
tile toward the white race, but we speak and think cf them 
as one of the five civilized tribes. 

The Creek or Muskoki Indian. 

This tribe of Indians are no doubt one of the strongest 
known today. There are a number of these important tribes 
such as the Apalachi, Alibamu, Choctaw, and Chickasaw. 



124 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Once upon a time these tribes mentioned were very closely 
related or allied with the Creeks. 

The Creek Indian was known in history as the builder 
of two kinds of cities, one called the White and the other 
the Red town. In the Red town there could be seen at a 
great distance many red flags floating in the air. The 
fronts of all buildings and all other structures were painted 
red. These towns were owned and controlled by the Indians 
known as the braves and warriors. The whites were peace 
towns. In them could be seen floating many white flag^. 
The front of all the buildings and structures were painted 
white and were owned and controlled by the faction known 
as the peace tribe. 

It has been said by some writers that the white towns 
were places of refuge to which many fled for safety to es- 
cape the death penalty by the hand of their pursuers. 

Let us remember that the braves and warriors among 
the Creek Indian were the highest and most esteemed and 
honored among their tribe. The early history of the Creek 
Indian and to this present day shows that they have never 
understood what death meant. They have always felt they 
could pay no higher tribute to their tribe than to die as a 
hero or a warrior at the hands of their enemies or their 
own tribe. Their belief and tradition handed down from 
generation to generation was that their tribe had the pow- 
er to condemn them or save them, that through disobedi- 
ence to their tribe their grave would be removed from 
among their dead, and that they would never enter the 
happj^ hunting ground where all tribes believed they would 
meet after death. The ancient home of the Creek Indian 
was in Florida and Old Mexico. They too, were compelled 
to emigrate and move to the Southwest. Their present lo- 
cation is known to all the country as the Creek Nation. 
This nation is surrounded by the Choctaw Nation ; on the 
south, Arkansas ; on the east, the Cherokee and the Osage 
Nations; and the state of Kansas on the north, and the 
Seminole Nation and old Oklahoma on the west. The Creek 
nation is known throughout the country for its great wealth, 
where thousands of acres of choice timbers grow, and a 



A Short History of the Various Tribes 125 

farming capacity that will equal any part of this great 
state cf Oklahoma, with a number of coal fields and hun- 
dreds of flowing oil wells, there are some of the leading 
cities of the Southwest located in this nation. 

The Seminole Tribe. 

This tribe is known as the Seminole Indian. Their an- 
cient home was alsa in Florida and old Mexico. The Semi- 
nole Nation i'' composed of a small body of land forty miles 
north and south, eighteen to twenty-five east and west, 
and lays between the Creek Nation and the old Oklahoma. 
The North Canadian river borders it on the north and the 
South Canadian, on the south. The Seminole Indian is 
nothing more than a Creek Indian. There is no difference 
whatever in their customs and language. The name Semi- 
nole was given to them by their own tribe the Creeks. It 
means left behind or runaway, as they vv^ere the last of this 
tribe to be conquered by the white settlers and forced to 
move or, emigrate from the state of Florida. However, the 
Seminole and the Creek Indian, according to a treaty made 
with them by the Mexican Government more than a century 
ago. owns a large reservation of land in that Government. 
This was not discovered until recent years. A piece of 
metal was found among some one of the Seminole Indians 
that this treaty was stamped upon by the Mexican govern- 
ment, which this tribe has been investigating for the last 
year, and have made great progress in locating this land, 
and a satisfactory agreement with the Mexican govern- 
ment. It was among this tribe of Indians the writer lived 
from a child into manhood. 

The chief of the Seminole Indians was known through 
the country, as one cf the greatest Indians in modern 
times. He was a man of refinement and education, he was 
a financier, and once a millionaire. He spoke the English lan- 
guage perfectly. He was educated in the north by his father 
who was a white man and a government doctor -^-ent to 
these Indians in an early day. 



126 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

The Mayas Indian Tribe. 

Among all American Indians of ancient times, the tribe 
known as the Mayas Indians no doubt was the most intelli- 
gent and lived nearest of all to civilization. In several 
countries these Indians could be found; some in Yucatan 
and in adjoining state/' of Tabasco and also old Mexico 
and in Central America, although these Indians did not 
occupy and control these entire countries. There were many 
other people who occupied these sections, speaking a lan- 
guage closely related to that of the Mayas Indian. A num- 
ber of writers have declared that this tribe and many 
others have been extinct many year-^, but that is a serious 
mistake. The^ e are many of them living today throughout 
Mexico and Central America. 

Let us remember it was this tribe who gave the Mexican 
governm.ent in the last few years no little trouble. They 
all speak the Spanish language fluently, but they live 
strictly in reservations or colonies to themselves. They have 
not given up their own language but there has been a num- 
ber of valuable books and other literature written by them. 
They retain today their ancient form of dressing. Those of 
the civilized world who have had the opportunity of seeing 
the modern Mayas Indian have but little, if any, criticism 
to offer, as to their life and customs, but speak of them 
as being a great people and absolutely reliable. There was 
no race of people in all the world at that time that excelled 
these people in the art of building. They were the best in 
all North America, and the ruins of these Indian cities tes- 
tify to that fact. More than half a century ago, one John 
L, Stevens with an artist whose name was Gatherwood 
traveled in the country of Honduras. Mr. Stevens gives 
an extensive account of their travels and the exploring of 
the ruins of these cities and the artist who accompanied 
him drew pictures of more than forty of those ancient 
cities. At that time many other explorers had been there. 
Therefore by photographs and history much is known of 
the Mayan architecture. 

Most of the ruins appeared to be buildings used by the 
government or perhaps for religious purposes. Very few, 



A Short History of the Various Tribes 127 

if any, of the buildings which stood near the center of the 
town were ever occupied by individuals or families, but it 
seemed that all dwelling houses were only small huts, built 
of poles or mud mixed with grass or some other substance. 
Today all these small huts have disappeared, leaving no 
evidence that such houses ever existed. All through the 
Mexican republic today, in many of these old ancient towns, 
the only permanent structures built by these Indians that 
can be found is a church here and there or some town 
house; everything else has faded and passed away. How- 
ever, most all of these towns furnish travelers and explor- 
ers some very peculiar and interesting ^cenes and studies. 

We can only briefly describe the most interesting scenes 
which are in the City cf Palenque, which appears to be one 
of the oldest cf the cities. It is located in the extreme 
southern part of old Mexico. In it are the ruins of the five 
great temples which were located near the center of the 
city. These buildings were built upon terrace platforms, 
they were very lengthy and narrow; the walls were thick 
and were built of very heavy stones, and mud was used 
for cement; the walls were often faced with slabs of stones. 

There was also another very famous location of ruins, 
left by the Mayan Indians. The most interesting of the 
ruins are the great store 'structures which seems to be fig- 
ures with stone altars before them. Many of these statutes 
are much taller than a man, and have been made from a 
single block of stcne and differ a great deal in so much 
that they have been believed by some writers to be por- 
traits. These statues are beautifully dres-^ed and ornament- 
ed. The altars in front of these stone figures, differ also 
in form and size but no doubt are all made from single 
blocks of stone. There is one of them which is square and 
very large, and on its ^^ide are carved a number of differ- 
ent figures of human beings, sitting with legs crossed. 
There are six on each side of the stone. There is much to be 
told about the building of these old structures. From a 
study of the figures and carving done upon the stones by 
the Indians, the ruins speak for themselve"^, as to how they 
were built. 



128 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

The Pawnee Tribe. 

Among all the Plains tribes who were hunters of buffa- 
loes, braves and warriors, none excelled the Pain. This 
tribe is better known as the Pawnee. They belonged to the 
Caddoan family, which also includes other tribes, the Cad- 
does and Witchitas and the Lipans and Tonkawas. The Paw- 
nees once were a very large tribe and occupied a large sec- 
tion of country, Nebraska and Idaho and the northern part 
of Colorado. Today they are few. The last fifty years they 
have rapidly diminished. About the year of the opening of 
old Oklahoma in 1889 they numbered less than a thous- 
and. 

The ancient home of many of them was in the southern 
part of old Mexico. Moving from there, it appears that they 
first appeared in the state of Louisiana. Later they emi- 
grated to the northwest to a district where they were first 
known by the whites. The name Pawnee has a peculiar 
meaning. It means wolves. The sign for this name often 
displayed by this tribe was the ears of wolves. There are 
several reasons that can be given why they bore this name. 
Perhaps it was that they never tired on their journey and 
had the endurance of wolves or other animals ; or likely be- 
cause they were great scalpers, and could not be excelled in 
trailing and hunting animals. They practiced appearing in 
the form of a wolf in order to get near some camp to steal 
horses. They wrapped themselves in wolf skins, and very 
cautiously crept and accomplished their undertakings. 

Wolves in those days were so numerous that they drew 
no attention from travelers or campers. The Pawnees in 
hunting buffalo and other animals, would often wrap them- 
selves in wolf skins and on their hands and feet would 
crawl within gunshot of the animal. They also had a very 
peculiar but a very successful way of making earthen ves- 
sels. It was indeed simple, two blocks of wood were secured 
and a small basin carved out in each block of wood the 
size they wanted the vessel; then a quantity of soft stone 
was beaten into powder, mixed into clay, made into a stiff 
dough, then placed into these moulds and left to dry, then 
burned in the fire. As long as the whites have had any 



A Short History of the Various Tribes 129 

knowledge of the Pawnee Indian, they have been very in- 
dustrious and agricultural people. Just here we will give 
some of the product of their farming. They raise Soffaka 
corn, pumpkins, squashes and a small soup^ bean. This 
tribe of Indians, when first known by the whites, worship- 
ped some kind of a God; they called it Tirawnin, whom 
they believed they must worship. It was said in cultivating 
their crops their tools were made of different kinds of 
bone, generally the shoulder blade of some animal. There 
was some practices with the Pawnees that differed from 
all other Plains Indians. Like some Mexican tribes, they 
kept a kind of a servant a sacrifice, a human being. They 
sacrificed this human being to their God and also the morn- 
ing star was worshipped by them. 

Many of their captives of war were adopted into the 
tribe, and one of beauty and strength was set apart for 
this sacrifice. He was exiled. The day before the sacrifice 
they danced all night and fasted. When the women arose 
from their eating they spoke to the captives and said, "1 
have finished and I hope that I may obtain a ble-^sing from 
Tirawa, our God, that whatsoever we undertake to do, in 
planting seed or in war, that success and victory might be 
certain," Let us remember that this sacrifice of a human 
being was indeed a sincere and a religious act and offering 
to their God. 

Now the night before the sacrifice or execution hundreds 
of bows and arrows were prepared for this important 
event. Every woman and man and even small boys had 
bows and arrows in hand. By daybreak of this important 
day, the whole tribe assembled; then tv/o strong stakes 
were crossed and firmly fixed in the ground to which the 
captive was firmly tied, then a fire was built around him. 
The warriors who had charge of the affair shot him through 
and through with an arrow. Then the body was shot full 
of arrows by the rest of the tribe. They then took the body, 
removed the blood, and all that were present touched the 
body after which it was cremated, while the entire tribe 
prayed to Tirawa their God. They removed their mocca- 
sins, put their naked hands and feet into the smoke and 
prayed for victory in war. 



130 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Among the Pawnee Indians at this time there was one 
known as crooked hand, not a chief but a great warrior. 
On one occasion all of those who were strong and healthy 
had gone on a buffalo hunt and left behind only men and 
women of old age and a few small boys, and a number of 
sick ones. At this time the Sioux Indians planned to cap- 
ture the little village, and destroy all of the Pawnee tribe 
left behind. There were nearly a thousand Sioux in the at- 
tack. When Crooked Hand, the great warrior, heard this 
news he lay sick in his tepee but he arose and gave orders, 
and the whole village obeyed. As the Pawnees passed out 
into the open country that surrounded the village, "the 
Sioux saw the force they had to meet, calling out and tell- 
ing what they would do. Crooked Hand heard their laughs 
and smiled, but not mercifully, then the battle began. With 
all the odds in this battle against the Pawnees, it seemed 
suicide in the first place, for Crooked Hand to lead them 
against the strong force of Sioux. It was about the hour 
of ten when the fight began, within three hours, to the 
astonishment of the Sioux, the Pawnees had held the in- 
vaders where they were. They had not made one foot ad- 
vance and one or two hours later, it became evident that 
the Pawnees had slain hundreds of the Sioux and had put 
them to flight. Crooked Hand himself had killed many of 
the Sioux. Several horses were shot from under him. His 
wounds were many but he laughed at them all. 

Many of the Pawnee Indians became government scouts 
throughout the Plains country, serving from about the 
year 1866 to 1876. This was while many white settlers were 
moving we'^tward, and many tribes of Indians were des- 
perate and hostile toward the white race. The Pawnee 
tribes are now settled on a small reservation in Oklahoma 
near the Arkansas and Semnone river. 

Saux and Fox, 

Saux from Osaukie, their own name of uncertain mean- 
ing, the Fox called themselves Muskuaki meaning of red 
earth. They were once two independent tribes closely re- 
lated to the tribes of Algonquian stock. Their ancient home 



A Short History of the Various Tribes 131 

was in northern Wisconsin and Michigan. It was in the 
seventeenth century they were compelled by the Iriquois to 
emigrate northward, and again by the French and Chippe- 
wa, and were again located in the northwestern part of 
Illinois and Iowa, in 1860. The two tribes united and have 
been known as a Saux and Fox tribe. They were allied 
with the British in the war of independence, and also in 
the second war they fought with the British against the 
United States in 18S2. It was because they were opposed 
to the treaty that the United States had offered to relin- 
quish to them all lands east of the Mississippi. They immedi- 
ately went on the war path under the leadership of a great 
warrior. Black Hawk, but were soon conquered. It was in 
1841 that a large number of this tribe accepted a reserva- 
tion of land in Kansas, to which they moved several years 
later, but a number remained in Iowa. But in 1868 they 
disposed of their lands in Kansas and received in exchange 
a tract in Oklahoma, which was located between the North 
Canadian and Cimarron laying west of the Creek Nation. 
Since moving to Oklahoma they have been very prosper- 
ous and conservative. 

Chickasaw. 

The Chickasaw is another tribe known as a Muskogean 
Indian. They are related to the Choctaws. With this tribe, 
in all wars and conflicts, they have been allied under the 
name of Chicaza. Their ancient home was east of the Mis- 
sissippi river; their dominion extended into western Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee. They were strong for war, and claim- 
ed much territory that they were never privileged to see 
or inhabit. The Chickasaws have been known through his- 
tory for their bravery and independence. When they were 
not on the war path with the white race they were gen- 
erally at war with some neighboring tribe, such as the 
Cherokees, Creeks, Shawnees, Osages and Quapaws. They 
have always been allied with the French in making war 
with others. The Choctaws and Cherokees and some two or 
three other tribes in 1715 succeeded in driving the Shaw- 
nee Indian out of the Cumberland valley, but within less 



132 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

than a half a century, the Choctaws were at war with the 
Cherokees. The government of the United States made its 
first treaty with the Choctaws in 1786, Many of them mov- 
ed west of the Mississippi during the year 1800, also 1822, 
but the main body did not move to the Indian territory un- 
til 1837. The Chickasaws tribe purchased an interest in the 
nation known now as the Choctaw. In 1855 the Chickasaws 
were separated from the Choctaws Nation : it was then 
that all the Chickasaws proceeded to organize their own 
government under a written constitution. It is well to re- 
member that these two tribes of Indians have been a sep- 
arate and distinct tribe for more than half a century. Dur- 
ing the Civil War the Choctaws fought with the Southern 
States. They furnished to the south several large bodies of 
troops of their tribe. The Chickasaws' form of government 
was not democratic but Republican. Their chief and gov- 
ernor, and their council, we might speak of as their legi"^- 
lative bod}'. The capitol of the Choctaws was located at 
Tishomingo; their chief and governor was Mr. D. H. Johns- 
ton. 

The name has several meanings, however we will only 
give the most prominent meanings of the word, which is 
fire making. In reading history and the tradition of this 
tribe it will be noticed that their custom was making a 
separate council fire for themselves. They were one cf the 
most prominent tribes of the Algonquinan family, and also 
related to the Chippewa and the Ottawa tribes. When some 
French explorers of America first met the Pottawatomie 
Indian they were settled upon a reservation near the mouth 
of Green Bay upon the shores of lake Michigan, and in a 
short time they moved northward settling on a small area 
of land near Chicago. This land was near the St. Joseph 
river in Michigan. They once occupied and controlled a 
large area of land in Illinois. When the French and Indians 
were at war, the Pottawatomie tribe was very much op- 
posed to the English. During the war of Independence, 
they stood loyally for the mother country, America, until 
victory and the treaty of Greenville in 1795. During the 
war of 1812 they allied with other tribes under Tecumseh, 
who afterwards joined the British forces against the Ameri- 



A Short History of the Various Tribes 133 

cans, and then entered a general treaty of peace. After that 
long drawn out fight and struggle in 1815, a part of the 
Pottawatomie tribe fled to Kansas. In 1837 or 1838 a part 
of them refused to move, but were finally driven out by 
a government force, some of them going to Canada, others 
settling in Iowa for a short time but in 1866 they moved 
to Kansas. It was in Kansas that years later the Potta- 
watomie tribe was divided; one part was known as the 
Prairia tribe and accepted a small reservation of land, and 
the other part also accepted an allotment of land in sever- 
alty. But the two tribes later sold their lands, and in 1868 
moved to the Indian Territory, settling on a tract of land 
with the Shawnee Indian. As a people there is none that 
has been more progressive than the Pottawatomie, their 
lands were thrown open for settlement in 1889 and 1891. 
There only remains today about fifteen hundred of this 
tribe in Oklahoma, and there may be equally as many liv- 
ing elsewhere in America. 

The Algonkins 
Now as to the Algonkins tribe let me quote from stand- 
ard authority: They occupied the Atlantic seacoast from 
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick south to Virginia, and 
stretched west at places as far as the Rocky mountains. 
They also occupied a large area in the interior of British 
America north of the great lakes. Brinton names more 
than thirty tribes of this great group. Among the best 
known cf these were the Lenape or Delawares, Blackfeet, 
Ojibwas, and Crees. It was chiefly Algonkin tribes with 
whom the white settlers met. The Indians who supplied the 
Pilgrims with corn in that first dreadful winter, were Al- 
gonkins. So were Powhatan and Pocahontas, King Phillip 
and Massasoit. Of course the whites came in contact with 
the Iriquois in New York, and with the Cherokees, the 
Creeks and their kin in the south. But the larger part of 
their early Indian acquaintance was Algonkins. There are 
two Algonkin tribes ; one, the Lenape, is eastern ; the other, 
the Blackfeet, is western. The former are Woodland the 
latter are Plains Indians. The Lenape lived in settled vil- 
lages, and had a great deal of agriculture. They were also 
hunters. 



CHAPTER 9. 

Federal Officers of the Early Days. 

(With Acknowledgement to "Going out of Vae Outlaws.") 

We Will First Call Your Attention to Marshal E. D. Nix. 

Few men ever lived like Mr. Nix. In the year 1889 he 
was sent after the outlaws and bandits of the Southwest. 
He was a man of great determination and an iron will well 
fitted to accomplish the mission for which he was sent. 

There is no doubt when he became an officer of the law 
he knew he was facing the worst and most desperate out- 
laws and bandits of all ages. The James and the Younger 
brothers were not and could not have been more desperate 
than the outlaws from the years 1880 to 1900 *in the South- 
west, Oklahoma and Indian Territory. Mr. Nix knew that 
the country was only the land of the heathen Indian and 
outlaw when he took the office as field marshal, but being 
a man with high ideals and who believed in good govern- 
ment and schools and civilization, he was willing to put 
his life on the altar and give it that the outlaw might be 
driven out of the country or put behind prison bars. When 
he became a United States marshal his headquarters or 
office was at Guthrie, Oklahoma. In May, 1893, there was 
no safety as to life and property throughout the country 
except in the towns, because of the desperateness of these 
outlaws and there were many of them. Mr. Nix was only 
32 years old when he was appointed to his office. He was 
a Kentuckian, born in that state, in September, 1861. His 
early life was spent as a traveling salesman out of Padu- 
cah, Kentucky. He established a wholesale grocery at Guth- 
rie, Oklahoma, in 1889. It was known as the Nix & Hahell 
Wholesale Grocery Co. Mr. 0. D. Halsell is still in business 
in Oklahoma. In those days the country was in need of 
some one who had the nerve and love for the country to 
drive the outlaw from the fair land of Oklahoma and the 
Indian Territory who were terrorizing the people that had 

(134) 



Federal Officers of the Early Days 135 

come to the new country from almost every state in the 
Union and they were for the most part law abiding citizens 
and deplored the fact that the outlaw was such a factor 
in the country and appeared to the government if by any 
means the outlaw and bandits be silenced and stopped as to 
their inhuman deeds and career. The people asked the gov- 
ernment for a man to drive them out of the country and 
the man that was named was this Mr. Nix and he was a 
business man and he went to his work in a business like 
way. He applied business principles to his work as an of- 
ficer of the law and in so doing he succeeded in his work 
most successfully. And perhaps another cause for his suc- 
cess was that he realized he was facing a great undertak- 
ing; but he faced it with a steady nerve and great man- 
hood. Mr. Nix became a great general in this long, hard- 
fought campaign and he made it known and served notice 
on all of his deputies that it meant a fight unto death. And 
he told them that they were going after the most desperate 
men the world ever knew. It was then he began to select 
some of the most daring men with high ideals and those 
who believed in good government and the enforcement of 
the laws for his field men, and men who knew the frontier 
life. He wanted men who knew much of warfare in the 
open as they were the only men that would fight the out- 
laws on their own ground and by their own methods of 
fighting. Among the most prominent of these men were 
William Tilghman, Mr. Madsen, and Mr. Heck Thomas, 
who were known throughout the country by all as the great- 
e^'t of all the field marshals. There was John Hixon and 
W. M. Nixed Kelley and W. A. Ramsey, Willliam Banks 
and Steve Burke, and Lake Joe Severn and Frank Hindman, 
and many others that we might mention, many of whom 
gave their life in performing their duty as officers of the 
law. Mr. Tom Houston and Dick Speed lost their lives in 
this great campaign in driving these outlaws and bandits 
from the Southwest. It was at Ingalls that these men lost 
their lives, in September, 1893. But this did not stop the 
campaign, but only stirred these men to be more deter- 
mined to drive these outlaws from the country. So they 
camped on the trail of them day and night, until the last 



136 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

one of them was dead or in prison cells. This fight against 
these outlaws lasted for years and all the time these men 
worked under the direction of this young man, Marshal 
Nix, who from a young business man developed into a 
great general conducting a border warfare. He knew his 
men and his men knew him; he was a great judge of hu- 
man nature. When he became marshal he studied the con- 
ditions in the southwest and determined for the sake oi 
human life and civilization and good government that he 
would rid the country of these outlaws and bandits and 
give the people who had come there to live and who were 
law abiding citizens a chance to live in peace and to de- 
velop the country, that people everywhere would be glad 
to come and live. We are proud to say that that condition 
prevails in the great state of Oklahoma today all because 
such men as this Mr. Nix threw themselves in the thresh- 
old of hell for us who today enjoy the blessing of one of 
the greatest states in the Union. 

Among many of his deputies who have since become 
prominent business men was John M. Hale, his chief office 
deputy, who is today one of the leading bankers in Okla- 
homa City. And many of his deputies have taken their 
places in the business world. Mr. Nix always impressed on 
his men in the field the great danger they were confront- 
ing when they went after the outlaw but impressed on them 
that they must not fail. Under his direction, gang after 
gang was broken up and completely destroyed. It seems 
that the secret of his great work was to center his efforts 
on killing or capturing the leaders of these outlaw and 
bandit gangs. But it seems, too, that when one was killed 
another took his place as leader, and when nearly all the 
members of one gang had been destroyed, the remaining 
few would at once organize another gang. So the fight and 
hunt was a long and hard one but the young marshal won 
at last. So it might be truthfully said of him that he de- 
serves the credit that has been given him that he was the 
one man that Oklahoma and the southwest owes much to- 
day in ridding the country of these outlaw^ and bandits. 
So in these later years Mr. Nix has become a well known 
business man in St. Louis. He is well known throughout 



Federal Officers of the Early Days 137 

many states and is beloved by all for his work's sake in the 
early and primitive days of Oklahoma. 

To The Readers. 

This is a truthful history of the events that took place 
with the officers and outlaws and bandits in the early days 
of Oklahoma and the Indian Territory when the southwest 
was being terrorized. by the outlaws. It tells you of the many 
desperate criminals and the officers who hunted them down. 
This book is and will teach the young man of today that 
the law is the great principle in any moral government 
and we must not break this law. Let me say right here that 
there is no doubt that the criminal life Is most miserable 
and that the law and right will always prevail. I want the 
young man that reads this book to be impressed that a life 
of crime is the worst and poorest paid occupation in which 
he could engage and that in the end it means death or a 
prison cell. 

We know that Oklahoma and the Indian Territories were 
the last of all the frontiers to be opened for settlement and 
for this reason all the outlaws and bandits congregated 
to carry on their inhuman crimes and deeds. These men 
were reckless and desperate, ready at all times to commit 
any crime on the calendar. They were horse thieves, cattle 
rustlers and train robbers, and their life of crimes made the 
Southwest notorious throughout the whole country. These 
men that created this reign of terror in the Southwest did 
not end when the country opened for settlement in 1889. 
It was in this year that thousands came to Oklahoma and 
the Indian Territories to make their home. The big ranches 
were soon put into farms and it was then the cowboys 
in great numbers found them'=elves without occupations. 
Then some of them took claims and became farmers ; others 
went to other countries and went into some kind of busi- 
ness ; while others of them became outlaws. It is mainly 
of these outlaws that this book tells. The outlaws overrun 
the Southwe'^t in brazen defiance of the law, reckless in 
their crimes and rendering the life of the peaceful citizen 
uncertain and his property insecure. 



138 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

The United States Government that stood for law and 
order sent men to the task of hunting these criminals, and 
for that work those who were experienced men were se- 
lected by the government. This book tells of these great 
men who went after these outlaws, and of their many great 
fights and long rides and the many dangers they encount- 
ered, and their ultimate victories. This book is a great 
volume of historical facts, beginning with the first organ- 
ized gang of outlaws and leading en through the many 
years until the last one was killed or placed behind prison 
bars. 

And as to the officers, it tells of their splendid moral and 
personal courage, in a western atmosphere that is true to 
life. 

Some facts are given of relentless pursuits of fighting 
and also duels in which Winchesters and other weapons 
were used in robbing banks and trains. It pictures some 
actual scenes that are thrilling, but there is nowhere any 
efforts made to eulogize the outlaw or in any wise make 
him an example for the young man to follow, but there is 
a great lesson for him to learn in this book for all who will 
read it, which is the only purpose the writer has in writ- 
ing it. Indeed, it is a great story, but of course it could 
not be otherwise if the facts are told in it concerning the 
life of the outlaws and the bandits and the great officers 
of these days of the Southwest. 

There never was a time when the outlaw was to be ad- 
mired in his character. He was, indeed, a criminal and a 
man of very low type of manhood. They always have been 
men that were preying upon others and ready at all times 
to kill all those who opposed them. God have mercy on any 
man who would glorify crime or try to justify a criminal 
and feel that he was telling the truth ! 

Here is depicted the hideousness of the outlaw life and 
along with it, woven into the narrative with a close adher- 
ence to facts, details of the lives of those brave men. But 
don't forget that it was these brave officers that brought 
the outlaw and the bandits to justice. It was here that 
crime and lawlessness was stripped of its glory; and the 
outlaw is shown to be without the glamour and without 



Federal Officers of the Early Days 139 

the gallantry and courage given to him by the cheap novel- 
ist and writer of exaggerated heroism. Young man, the 
moral lesson is that the evil doer dies and "whatsoever man 
soweth that he will also reap" and that right will prevail. 
And today the people of the Southwest are without the out- 
law and bandit life and are enjoying life in one of the great- 
est States in this great Union of ours. 

We will now call your attention to Mr. William Tilgh- 
man, the man that had much to do with driving the outlaw 
out of Oklahoma and the Indian Territory. Mr. Tilghman 
has served in a number of capacities as an officer of the 
law. He was a scout plainsman and a United States mar- 
shal, and state senator, sheriff and peace officer and chief 
of police of Oklahoma City. 

He has ever stood on the side of law and right. 

In his young life he was an Indian fighter and has al- 
ways been a frontiersman since there was a frontier. 

He has spent much of his life as an officer of the law and 
it was through his efforts in th^ Southwest that the outlaw 
and bandit were wiped out. 

Mr. Tilghman was born at Fort Dodge, Iowa, in 1854 
and his parents moved to Kansas in 1856. He was 16 years 
old when he left his home and went to the southwest part 
of that state which was then a frontier. Wichita was 
only a trading post with less than a dozen houses there. 
Mr. Tilghman became a citizen of that county in 1870, and 
he was a great hunter and had many hard fights with the 
Indians there. 

He served as a government scout during the Cheyenne 
and Arapaho Indian war in 1874, and he also fought 
through 1878 when Dull Knife and his followers left the 
reservation at Fort Sill and plunged the frontiers of Kan- 
sas and Nebraska into a great war. It was at this time Mr. 
Tilghman lost all his possessions ; they were burned by the 
Indians. 

Mr. Tilghman was at Dodge City when the town was 
first surveyed, and saw it grow into the wildest of all the 
western towns. He was marshall of this city for three 
years in its wildest days. It was here he established a rep- 
utation as a man of great nerve and fearlessness which have 



140 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

remained with him throughout life. For four years he 
served as under-sheriff of Ford county. During that time 
he captured some of the most desperate men of the South- 
west. When Oklahoma was opened in 1889, Mr. Tilghman 
also came to the new country with the early settlers and 
has ever since lived in Oklahoma. 

He was the first city marshall of Perry, a town that tried 
to surpass Dodge City as to outlaws and bad men gather- 
ing in it. It was sometime later that Mr. Tilghman became 
a deputy under Mr. E. D. Nix, the place being tendered Mr. 
Tilghman because the entire Southwest was at that time 
overrun with outlaws and bandits of the most desperate 
type of men the country ever knew. And Mr. Tilghman 
at that time was thought of and looked upon as the one 
man who could do much to drive them out because of his 
experience in a frontier life and fighting the wild and sav- 
age Indian. So he took his place as an officer and went 
after the bandits in a way that he soon reduced their ranks. 
The reader will remember it was William Tilghman who 
captured the king of all outlaws, Bill Doolin at Ru'^h 
Springs. The outlaw had said he would not be taken alive. 
Tilghman could have easily killed a noted bandit but he 
knew the outlaw Doolin had once saved his life and too he 
had promised Doolin if it was possible, would save his life, 
and for this reason, Mr. Tilghman saved the bandits' life. 
Although at that moment it would have required the gentle 
pressure of hi'' fingers to have sent a bullet crashing 
through the bandit's brain. 

It has been said of Mr. Tilghman that, as an officer, he 
never shot a man unless it was absolutely necessary to save 
his own life. 

He was an active officer for years and knew nothing but 
a frontier life. 

But there was never in his heart a desire to take human 
life. He went after the outlaws and followed them into 
their hiding places. Many times he came face to face with 
them and their ."ix-shooters and Winchesters and then he es- 
caped almost miraculously. It can also be said of him that 
he was faithful in his task that had been given him and that 
he knew no retreat from the field until the outlaw and ban- 



. Federal Officers of the Early Days 141 

dit was either killed or behind prison bars. By choice, Mr. 
Tilghman is a farmer and a dealer in fine stock. He is so 
quiet and unassuming that he would not be given credit 
among those who do not know him for having such a dis- 
tinguished career. Had he chosen to have given himself 
publicity, he might have been one of the most widely known 
men in all the country. But his modesty it seems has al- 
ways kept him in the back-ground. 

He was made chief of police of Oklahoma City against 
his will and afterwards was solicited by many of his friends 
to accept this position because at that time the services of an 
active man was needed. And it was in 1915 when the bank 
of Stroud, Oklahoma, was robbed by Henry Starr and his 
gang Mr. Tilghman was called upon to capture the robbers. 
He had but little time to give to this important work, but 
within a few days three of the robbers were captured under 
the plans laid by him. 

Mr. Tilghman is now a resident of Oklahoma City; he 
is widely known throughout the country, in fact he is one 
of the most highly respected citizens in the state. He is 
often spoken of as being a quiet man ; he never speaks of 
himself. 

Deputy Marshal Madsen. 

Chris Madsen has seen as many years as an ofhcer as any 
other man among all those that were employed by the gov- 
ernment to drive the outlaw from the Southwest. Mr. Mad- 
sen is in a way a cosmopolitan, a citizen of the world, and 
has a great record as a soldier and a scout and marshal and 
a peace officer. Mr. Madsen is a native of Denmark and 
he served under Napoleon in the Franco-Russian war, and 
was a member of the famous legion that was sent to Al- 
giers. He came to the United States in 1870. He also ser- 
ved in the United States Army from 1875 to 1890, and was 
quartermaster sergeant of the Fifth Cavalry. At many 
times he had charge of the Indian Scouts in Wyoming and 
the Southwct. He was also in the campaign in Arizona 
in 1875 when the Sioux and the Cheyenne were on the war- 
path in Wyoming and the mountain regions of Nebraska. 



142 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

The duration of this war was three years, from 1875 to 
1877. The following year he was also one of the Indian 
fighters, and was with the army scouts and soldiers in the 
trouble with the southern Cheyennes in Wyoming and Ne- 
braska. 

The uprising of the Bannocks Indians in Wyoming and 
in Colorado in 1878 and 1879 was the last of the Indian 
fighting except a few skirmishes between rangers and gov- 
ernment scouts. Mr. Madsen was President Arthur's guide 
from Wyoming to the Yellowstone Park when the President 
made the trip in 1883. He was quartermaster sergeant in 
the field from 1885 to 1887 in the Indian Territory and Ok- 
lahoma. In 1889 he settled on a homestead near El Reno 
and built a magnificent home there. However, he was not 
a farmer but from 1890 to 1892 he was chief deputy marshal 
for United States Marshal William Grimes. He went to 
Marshal Crump at Fort Smith as deputy in 1892 and re- 
mained there until 1896, at the same time holding a com- 
mission as deputy under Marshal Williams of Paris, Texas, 
but did most of his work for Marshal NiJc of Oklahoma, 
having charge of the western district. He was deputy for 
U. S. Marshal Joe Selby and Crenshaw of the western dis- 
trict of Missouri during 1897 and 1898. 

Returning to the Indian Territory, he served as deputy 
under Marshal Hammer from 1898 to 1902, in the southern 
district, then under Colbert in the same district from 1902 
to 1906. In 1910 he was appointed marshal of Oklahoma 
and filled the office until an appointment was made by Pres- 
ident Taft. He was chief deputy for Marshal Cade from 
1911 to 1913. In 1915 he was chief deputy for Marshal 
Newell. As an officer, Mr. Madsen has captured some of 
the worst men of modern times. It was his posse that 
killed Tulsa Jack after the Dover train robbery. When the 
outlaws were overtaken, Mr. Madsen captured Simpson, one 
of the worst of the outlaws Oklahoma and the Indian Ter- 
ritory ever knew, who had killed two deputies in the middle 
district of Oklahoma. He also captured George Moran the 
man who killed Beemblossom's boy in 1901 near Robbers 
Roost in the Comanche country. John and James Black 
and John Murphy had robbed and held up a train at Logan, 



Federal Officers of the Early Days 143 

N. M., and Mr. Madsen went after them, locating them in 
the Indian Territory on the Garrison farm where they had 
been temporarily employed. Mr. Garrison, however, did 
not know they were outlaws, neither did Mr. Madsen tell 
him as to the men when he asked about them. 

The outlaws were picking cotton and had their guns con- 
cealed in their sacks. When Mr. Garrison introduced Mr. 
Madsen to the cotton pickers they then went after their 
guns. Mr. Madsen demanded them to throw up their hands 
and seeing he had the drop on them they did so. 

There was another outlaw husking corn behind the wag- 
on and he was also captured at the same time. 

Mr. Houston was at this time working for Mr. Madsen 
and gave him some valuable information as to the Casey 
gang, being on friendly terms with its members. He was 
later hanged by this outlaw gang, and they sent a letter to 
Mr. Madsen telling him where the body could be found. 
Three days later these outlaws were killed near Cleo, Okla- 
homa. Mr. Madsen, in the field with other marshals, went 
after these fellows, finally killing them and capturing them. 

Mr. Madsen will be long remembered for his courage 
and bravery as a fighter. He was one man that never 
showed the white feather. 



Heck Thomas. 

A United States Marshal, Heck Thomas. Nobody ever 
thought of him by any other title unless perhaps by the 
title of Marshal Thomas. 

He was born in Georgia June 5, 1850. He also served in 
the Confederate army at the age of twenty and was a 
courier in the Thomas division of the Stonewall Jackson 
brigade. 

After the war, Mr. Thomas became an express messen- 
ger on the train and when the train was held up by the Sam 
Bass gang of outlaws which he was on, he saved the com- 
pany $22,000 by hiding it in a stove and giving the robbers 
a bundle of worthless paper in its place. 

When Mr. Thomas was first appointed a marshal he 
worked out of Fort Smith under Judge Parker who in 



144 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

those days tried almost every murder case commited in 
all the country, and no doubt was judge over the great- 
est court in the world at that time. Judge Parker 
passed the death sentence on more men than any other 
judge who ever lived in modern times. 

And don't forget that this man Thomas presented his 
part of them to this court of justice. 

It was said that on one train that he and Mr. Tilghman 
took to this court at Fort Smith forty-one prisoners, nine 
of whom were given the death penalty after their trial by 
Judge Parker. 

Mr. Thomas helped to break up the Sam Bass gang in 
Texas and the Dalton and Doolin gangs in Oklahoma 
and the Indian Territories and by his great work and 
service as an officer earned the right to be known 
throughout the Southwest as one of the greatest guards- 
men of his day. 

For fifteen years he was known as one of the great- 
est guardsmen of modern times. The other two were 
Mr. Tilghman and Mr. Madsen. This title was given to 
them because of their work in driving the outlaws and 
bandits from the country. Mr. Thomas more than once 
distinguished himself as an officer as few men have been 
able to do. It was on May 1, 1885, after the Lee out- 
law gang had shot to death Jim Guy and Jim Roff and 
Andy Kuykendall. Mr. Thomas took up their trail and 
followed them into Texas, and it was in September he 
located them in a hay field on a ranch. He opened fire 
on the outlaws and wounded Pink Lee, then getting be- 
hind a haystack, he captured them both. The Governor 
of Texas afterwards gave out a statement in which he 
said that it was one of the bravest acts' that he had ever 
known to be done by any officer. In this case the State 
law was manipulated in such a way that Mr. Thomas 
was paid a reward of $5,000.00 for this single- handed 
capture. 

We will remember that it was at the hand of Heck 
Thomas that Bill Doolin finally met his death and, too, 
it was said that the outlaw had the same chance as the 
officer in the fight. 

Doolin had been captured by Bill Tilghman at Eureka 



Federal Officers of the Early Days 145 

Springs, Arkansas, and had escaped from the jail at 
Guthrie, liberating all the other prisoners at the same 
time. Now at this time there were three officers on his 
trail, Mr. Tilghman, Mr. Madsen and Mr. Thomas, but 
they were not together. Mr. Thomas located him at the 
home of his wife's father in Payne County near Lawton 
and waited for him. That night Doolin was preparing 
to leave the country with his wife and bady. Mr. Thomas 
was concealed by the roadside when the outlaw came lead- 
ing his horse down the moonlit way. Mr. Thomas might 
have shot the outlaw from ambush, but he scorned to take 
such an advantage. He walked out into the opening and 
stood upright only fifty or sixty feet away and demanded 
the outlaw to throw up his hands, then Doolin opened fire 
on him. Then with a shotgun loaded with buckshot Mr. 
Thomas fired and the bandit fell dead. 

The outlaw was leading his horse by the tip end of 
his bridle reins. Beck Thomas said of the killing of 
Bill Doolin that he was carrying his Winchester in both 
hands and was looking to the right and to the left as he 
walked along the path. He was walking slowly along 
and the moon was shining bright, when I stepped out and 
called to him to put up his hands. Re fired at me and 
the bullet passed so close to me it almost burned my 
face. Mr. Thomas said that the gun he had was too 
long in the breach and he could not get it to work until 
the outlaw ihad got another shot at him. It was said 
that after the outlaw had shot twice with his Winchester 
he then dropped it and pulled his sixshooter from his 
belt and it was thought that he shot twice with 
it. But when Mr. Thomas got ihis gun to work the fight 
was over. 

Mr. Thomas was once elected chief of police of Law- 
ton, but later went again into the field as a United 
States marshal. 

He died at Lawton on August 15, 1912, and he sleeps to- 
day in the cemetary there. 



146 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Field Marshal Ledbetter. 

Mr. Ledbetter came to Oklahoma from Arkansas and 
and located at Vinita in 1893, where he was later elected 
marshal of that city. He soon proved himself worthy as 
an officer, and demonstrated such remarkable ability 
that he was soon appointed deputy United States marshal 
in the eastern district of Oklahoma where he largely 
operated, and when the outlaws entered his territory he 
made the hunt for them as warm as it could be made. At 
the head of a posse, Mr. Ledbetter was a dangerous man 
on the trail of an outlaw or bandit. He engaged in many 
encounters many times with the worst men of the South- 
west and at all times he showed remarkable bravery. 

It was Mr. Ledbetter who captured the members of the 
Jennings-O'Malley gang a few weeks after the robbing 
of the Rock Island train near Chickasha, Oklahoma. He 
very wisely planned the capture of these outlaws in such 
a way that he left the bandits no chance of escape. The 
capture of these outlaws by Mr. Ledbetter brought ne^r 
to an end the outlaw reign of terror in the Southwest. He 
has held office as a United States marshal practically all 
the time since he was first appointed. 

He was elected chief of police of Muskogee, Oklahoma, 
and filled that place in a most creditable manner; later he 
was elected sheriff of Muskogee county and carried on 
the duties of that office with fully as much credit to him- 
self. No man in the state of Oklahoma stands higher as 
a citizen, and is more respected as a peace officer. He 
ranks as high as the best. During the days of the outlaws 
and bandits in the Southwest he was known as one of the 
most relentless of all those who went on their trail. When 
he started after the Jennings and O'Malley gang he kept 
the trail hot until it ended in their capture. It was due 
to his efforts that the career of this gang was cut so short. 



Deputy Marshal Steve Burke. 

No doubt one of the most remarkable characters as an 
officer was this Mr. Burke. He was appointed deputy 
United States marshal in 1893, succeeding Mr. W. M. Nix of 



Federal Officers of the Early Days 147 

the fourth district of Oklahoma in 1895, the district being 
presided over by United States District Judge A. G. C, Bier- 
er. Mr. Burke at the time of his appointment to office was 
somewhat young and reckless but he had every element of a 
strong character. He was always loyal and true, and after 
Mr. Nix had known him a short time he regarded him as 
one of the most truthworthy men on his staff. 

Mr. Burke had many thrilling experiences in the dis- 
charge of his duties. A number of times he escaped death 
at the hands of the outlaw, on several occasions, by only 
a hair-breadth. 

It was Mr. Bruke that helped to capture the Girl bandits 
who'='e life and description are portrayed in this book in 
another place. 

But he had many other experiences and at all times proved 
himself to be a daring and efficient officer. 

It was said of him that he at all times kept strict order 
in the court room when the Court was in session. He al- 
ways detected any movement instantly that m_ight create 
a noise or a slight disturbance and checked it with a glance 
or the raising of his hand. On one occa'^ion he led from 
the court room two of the States most prominent lawyers 
because they failed to observe the courts injunction to keep 
order. 

Mr. Burke was young and at this time had not had the 
experience that other had had in the field, especially some 
of the older men on the force, but when there was occasion 
for it, he demonstrated that he had as much daring bravery 
and was willing to take as many chances as any other man 
in the field. 

He was born in Texas and came to Oklahoma and the 
Indian Territory when a very young man. He was still a 
young man when Mr, Nix appointed him as a deputy, but 
he always proved to be true blue to his mission, and he held 
his position until Marshal Nix's term of office expired. 

Then it was that Mr, Burke gave up the work as an of- 
ficer and soon after profe'^sed religion which became the 
guiding motive of his life, and he went immediately into 
the Evangelistic work, and through his faithful efforts as a 
minister he led many to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as 
their Saviour. 



148 The Life and Practice of the Indian , 

It was said of him that he entered into his new work with 
the same determination that had marked every success of 
his former life as an officer of the law, and today Mr. 
Burke ranks highly among the best of ministers. From an 
armed officer hunting down outlaws to the work of the 
ministery, saving souls of men, seems a little strange, but 
not so much to the man who starts out in life with a deter- 
mination that the right must prevail. 

This young man from his youth up had within him this 
strong sense of justice. He always believed that men ought 
to obey God and the laws of their Country. He always be- 
lieved that there wa- something good in all men and that 
they would more or less believe the divine laws of God if 
presented to them in the proper light. 

And his life in the Lord's great work as a preacher has 
proven to him without a doubt that his conviction in his 
early life was right. 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 

(With Acknowledgements to "Going Out of the 
Outlaws") 

■ This man known as Arkansas Tom is no doubt the only 
living member of that once famous and well known, des- 
perate, Doolin outlaw gang. He is a native of Arkansas 
and he came to Oklahoma and the Indian Territory in his 
early life, and being employed on a ranch in the Cheyenne 
Country as a cowboy, he no doubt was acquainted with 
many of those who went into the Doolin gang of outlaws. 
And associating with them, he was finally drawn into the 
outlaw life. Arkansas Tom was no doubt the man who 
cared for Bill Doolin when he was once so seriously wounded 
in Kansas, and was returned to the Indian Territory to be 
cared for. They took him to a ranch in the Cheyenne 
Country. It was here Doolin was concealed until he was 
again able to travel, and from here he was taken to Ingalls 
where Tom was very sick in a hotel on the day of the famous 
fight there. 

It was in this fight that Arkansas Tom took a great part 
that started him out on his desperate outlaw life, but was 
soon captured and tried for manslaughter and was sent to 
Lansing prison for fifty years. But after he had served 
seventeen years he was pardoned the pardon was secured for 
him because of good behavior, and since he has lived a good 
and respectable citizen and has outlived all his former out- 
law life. 

It was Marshal Nix that directed the men in the great 
fight at Ingalls and who hunted down the Doolin gang and 
captured Arkansas Tom. 

Time has brought about many changes, but none mo 
strange than the fact that the former bandit was the regular 
employee of the former marshal, Mr. Nix. 

When Mr. Nix learned of the former outlaw's sincere 
efforts to establish himself he knew that the prisonment 
life had done its work for which it was designed and had 

(149) 



150 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

brought its punishment of retribution. It was then the for- 
mer officer's heart went out in sympathy to and for the 
former outlaw, whom he had hunted down in former years, 
and he arranged a meeting at once with him. 

When the two men met they silently clasped hands, 
pledged friendship, the one, rich in the worlds estimate of 
riches, offering to the other, the poor and needy, a helping 
hand the opportunity he so much needed to again become 
a man among men. 

Soon after the opening of Oklahoma and the Indian Ter- 
ritory for settlement by the white race of people, there 
came also many outlaws and bandits into the Country. 
Among them was the well known outlaws called the Dalton 
gang. Many of us are familiar with the life and operation 
of these men in the Southwest. By reading the newspapers 
of those days we will remember much of the life of these 
desperadoes, and their daring deeds and inhuman crimes 
that they committed in the Territory and Oklahoma. 

They were all plainsmen, uneducated and knew nothing 
whatsoever of a life of civilization, and did not have one 
civilized idea in their hearts. They all had been cowboys 
and knew nothing of any other life. They were all great 
riders and gunsmen of the true Southwest type ; men of that 
type were those who shot with a gun in each hand and from 
the saddle, and it mattered not as to the speed and the con- 
dition of their horses it did not effect their markmanship, 
they hit the mark, their aim was true. They are not to be 
thought of, and confused with the thugs of the present, 
called gunmen, found in our cities, who clap a revolver to 
the head of a victim and pulled the trigger. 

These men of the Southwest outlaws or otherwise would 
scorn such methods. They might ambush an officer and 
kill him but they were not in anywise to be classed with 
the lower strata of humanity, in the cities of our day. 

The Dalton gang committed many robberies and no doubt 
killed a large number of men. Its members became as well 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 151 

known in the Southwest as were the James and Younger 
brothers in Missouri and other places where they operated. 

The leader of the gang was Bob Dalton who was not more 
than 22 years old when .he started out in the outlaw life. 
It was said of him that he was indeed a handsome young 
man, and it was also said of him that no man ever lived 
in modern times that possessed more daredevil bravery than 
this Bob Dalton. 

There was in the gang Grat Dalton also 30 years old, and 
he was regarded as being more cautious and manly than 
other of the brothers. There was Emmett Dalton who at 
this time was only a boy of 20 but fully as reckless and 
brave as his brother, the leader of the gang. 

Bill Dalton was indeed one of the most noted and dan- 
gerous outlaw who lived in modern times, and was the 
leader of one of the most dangerous outlaw gang, in all 
the Southwest, but the gang was not so well known for 
a number of years. 

The outlaw of the Southwest were not bad men driven 
out of other states as we have so often heard said of them 
but many of them came from the best of families. This 
was true of the Dalton boys. At any rate they were the 
sons of Lewis and Adeline Dalton, a family that was res- 
pected and honored by all that knew them, as being a family 
of high respectability. Lewis Dalton was a Kentuckian 
and served in the Mexican War, in 1850. He removed from 
Kentucky to Jackson County, Missouri, where he settled on 
a farm and two years latter he was married to Adeline 
Younger the daughter of a neighboring farmer. By no 
stretch of the imagination could it have been foretold that 
the sons of these gentle and quiet people would have later 
become the principal members of the outlaw gang that later 
proved its self the worst and most desperate in the history 
of bandit life. 

The parents of these boys were not of that class that 
desperadoes would be expected to spring from. Ten years 
later the father moved to Coffeyville, Kansas, where he 
bought a farm. There Mr. Dalton died, in 1890, and was 
buried in the cemetery just west of Coffeyville. 



152 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

His widow came to Oklahoma and secured a farm near 
Kingfisher, where she lived for a number of years. The 
three older sons located near the same place, and there 
lived as respected citizens. Four of her daughters married 
farmers in Oklahoma and have all lived peaceful and happy 
lives 

Bill Doolin went to Montana, then to California, iri his 
early life but later returned to Oklahoma and joined the 
Dalton gang of outlaws. It seems the members of this 
family were destined to meet violent deaths. The first, 
Frank Dalton was deputy United States marshal at Fort 
Smith, Arkansas in 1884 and very soon through his opera- 
tion as an officer in the Indian territory was known as a 
brave and trustworthy man. 

It was in 1885, while trying to arrest some horse theives 
near Fort Smith, Dalton and his posse engaged in a gun 
fight with them and Frank Dalton was killed, Gratton 
Dalton another brother had been in California and hearing 
of his brother's death, returned to Oklahoma, and he too 
was commissioned deputy United States marshal and for 
several months he proved to be a splendid officer, but later 
became reckless and untrustworthy. While in company 
with his brother Bob and Emmett, they stole a herd of 
horses and drove them into Kansas where they were sold. 

Bob Dalton, who became the leader of the outlaw gang, 
also served as deputy marshal with his brother Frank. He 
was with Frank in the gun fight with the horse theives 
when Frank was killed. Bob Dalton was at one time com- 
missioned a deputy United States marshal for the fed era 1- 
courts of Fort Smith, Arkansas and also Wichita, Kansas, 
and he was also cheif of police for the Osage nation a short 
time. Emmett Dalton lived quietly at home until after the 
death cf his father, in 1890, when he started at once on 
his wild career of crimes which proved to be of short dura- 
tion. He soon rivaled his brother in the use of a six shoot- 
er and for coolness in the midst of a gun fight he could not 
be excelled. Though he came from a quiet and respectable 
family from all appearances he was born for a life of crime. 
He was a peculiar falling star in the firmament of the 
criminal skys of the Southwest. Soon after the theft of 
the herd of horses, Gratton and Emmett Dalton went to 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 153 

California and early in 1881 they were accused of an un- 
successful attempt to rob an express train in Tulaer County. 
The express messenger by his bravery succeeded in driving 
the robbers away, but the fireman was killed and the Dal- 
tons were charged with murder and train robbery. Grat- 
ton was tried and sentenced to twenty years in the peniten- 
tiary, but he escaped before he had been removed from the 
county jail to the state prison. 

Emmett Dalton. escaped arrest on the murdei and rob- 
bery charge and they returned to their old homes in Okla- 
homa. At the time of the Coffeyville raid there was a re- 
ward of six thousand dollars for Emmett and Gratton Dal- 
ton, offered by the Southern Pacific railway company. Af- 
ter returning to Oklahoma they equipped themselves for an 
outlaw life, and were joined by Bob Dalton their brother. 
He was young and impulsive but later became their leader. 
The first act committed by this gang, after being organ- 
ized was the robbery of a Santa Fe passenger train at Red 
Rock Oklahoma in June 1891. It was not the most daring 
of their robberies but it was sufficient to bring them into 
great prominence. There were six that took part in this 
robbery, the four Dalton boys, Charles Bryant, and 01 
Yountis. The train was stopped by flagging and then loot- 
ed. The passengers were all robbed of all their valuables 
and money. The hunt for the outlaw gang began imme- 
diately but not by the three men known as the guardsmen, 
Bill Tilghman, Mr. Madsen and Heck Thomas. 



The Killing of Ed Short 

Soon after the Red Rock robbery Mr. Short was com- 
missioned as deputy marshal and was ordered to hunt down 
the Dalton gang. Mr. Short was true blue to his mission 
and as brave a man as ever performed an official act, but 
at times it seemed he did not realize the dangerous task set 
before him. Outlaw Bryant was wounded soon after the 
robbery at Red Rock, and was taken to some home perhaps, 
the home of a friend at Hennessy. It was there he re- 
ceived medical treatment. Marshal Short located him at 
this place and arrested him without a shot being fired. 



154 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Bryant begged the marshal not to handcuff him and said 
that he was already wounded so badly he could not escape, 
but Short handcuffed him and next morning caught the 
train for Wichita, Kansas, where all federal prisoners were 
taken at that time. When the handcuffs were placed on 
Bryants wrists he remarked to the officer that some day 
he would kill him, for as no member of the Bryant family 
had ever been handcuffed, he resented the act of such treat- 
ment by the marshal. Mr. Short or the prisoner did not 
know this threat was to be carried out so soon. The offi- 
cer had learned that just before the capture of Bryant, mem- 
bers of the outlaw gang had been with him in his room, 
and the officer believed an attempt would be made to kill 
him and to liberate Bryant, but before the train started he 
placed his prisoner in the express car and gave the mes- 
senger the six shooter he had taken from the bandit. The 
marshal then went back to the smoker to guard against the 
possibility of an attempt to rescue the outlaw, but soon af- 
ter Short left the car the messenger sat down at his desk, 
carelessly laying the gun down and while he was busy with 
his waybills, the outlaw slipped quietly behind him 
reached over his shoulder and seized the gun, and just as 
the train was entering the town of Waukomis the conduct- 
or unlocked the door to the express car. He was met by the 
bandit with the gun in his face and ordered to throw up 
his hands and at the same moment the outlaw saw the mar- 
shal coming through the door of the smoker. The bandit, 
holding a revolver in both hands fired, the bullet striking 
the officer in the breast. He was fatally wounded but did 
not fall, but raised his gun and shot Bryant through the 
left shoulder. Just across the vestibule of the two coaches 
stood the two men. They continued to shoot at each other 
until they fell. 

The conductor was still standing holding his hands above 
his head, while the passengers were seeking refuge in all 
parts of the train, and as the train pulled into the station 
the dead bandit was thrown from the train upon the depot 
platform. Mr. Short was still alive and as the conductor 
came near him he raised his head and said "I got him, but 
he got me, too, I would like so much to see my mother be- 
fore I go." But in a few minutes the life of one of the 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 155 

bravest and truest officers that ever lived in all the South- 
v/est passed out. 



The Life and Operations of the Daltons 

After this time the Dalton gang was sought for more 
and more, for this time it was the three Guardsmen on 
their trail, and in a very short time 01 Yountis was shot 
and killed at a place known as Orlando. He was killed by 
a posse composed of Heck Thomas, and Chris Madsen, and 
Tom Houston and Chalk Beeson, sheriff of Ford County, 
Kansas. Bill Doolin, Yountis, and George Newcomb, known 
among the outlaws as Bitter Creek, had robbed the bank 
at Spearville in Ford County. This was in November 1892. 
Sheriff Beeson had trailed them for a number of days and 
had located them at Orlando. Mr. Beeson went to Guthrie 
and asked the help of Mr. Madsen. Mr. Tom Houston went 
with them and when they found the outlaws they called on 
them to surrender, but the outlaws opened fire on the offi- 
cers, and in this fight one of them was killed, making two 
of the gang killed up to this time. 

But at the same time it cost the life of one of the bravest 
among all marshals of the Southwest. The Daltons were 
still at large; they were only heard of here and there, but 
were never seen by the officers. The Daltons had many 
friends throughout the country, especially in the western 
part of Old Oklahoma, and for this reason they were hard 
to find. Many of the early settlers of the country be- 
friended them because of fear. Now by this gang of out- 
law^, a long drawnout campaign of terror was inflicted 
upon the early settlers of Oklahoma and the Indian Terri- 
tory. They would scout from one end of the country to the 
other making long journeys to rob a train or bank in Texas 
or Kansas. They were often heard of in some place one 
day and the next day they would be miles away. They 
would make long hard rides and it seems, too, that where- 
ever they went they would find friends who would help 
them. Scattered were the ranches and few the farmers 
who dared to refuse to befriend them when they requested 
or demanded. Often times, these outlaws would be in need 



156 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

of rest and when so they would retire to one of their hid- 
ing places the most famous of which was a cave that is to be 
seen and known today as the former rendezvous of these 
outlaws. 

Among all the deeds committed by the Dalton gang that 
gave them the greatest publicity and prominence through- 
out the country was no doubt the train robbery at Red Rock, 
Oklahoma. The Dalton and the Doolin gangs were no 
doubt the only ones in the Territory at that time that had 
the nerve to do such a crime. 

While it is true that the country was full of bad men at 
that time, they were largely cattle rustlers and horse 
thieves. But from among them there were many who af- 
terwards developed into some of the most noted outlaws and 
bandits ever known in the country. They were train rob- 
bers and would commit any crime in the catalogue of 
crimes. But up to the time of the Red Rock train robbery 
there were but the two real outlaw gangs in the country, 
the Daltons and the Doolins. But it seemed that this deed 
at Red Rock inspired many others to go into the outlaw 
bandit life. The country was ideal for such a life, only a 
very few lines of railroads in the country, and only trails 
to travel on horseback or on foot ; no public roads at all. 

So you see that the outlaw was as well hidden as were 
the robbers of old in the fastness of the wilderness. After 
they went to scouting the country the Daltons were seldom 
ever seen by any one, especially by those who would inform 
the officers as to their wliereabouts. 

It was about 9 o'clock at night in June, 1892, the Santa 
Fe train was held up and robbed at Red Rock in the Chero- 
kee Strip. The train was stopped and the passengers and 
the crew intimidated by the shots that were fired. The ex- 
press car was looted and the robbery was over with so quick- 
ly that some of them on the train had barely time to know 
what had happened. So after the robbery, the bandits 
mounted their horses and rode away leaving no trace of 
them. As was the case in all their deeds they made their 
get-away. 

Now, after this robbery the Dalton gang was heard of 
more freauently, so the next train robbed by them was in 
June of the same year; they robbed a passenger train on 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 157 

the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, railroad near a place known 
as Adair. This robbery was also at night about nine 
o'clock. 

Now at this time the Dalton gang was acquiring the bold- 
ness that came to them with practice and the Adair rob- 
bery was the most daring of all up to that time; a number 
of guards and police were on the train and when it was 
held up they opened fire on the outlaws but the bandits 
succeeded in carrying away all the money, and valuables. 
The mail car was robbed and much of the registered mail 
carried away. 

But we will remember that this robbery was not done so 
easily as before, for there was a hot battle during the 
whole time the train was being held up. Several of the of- 
ficers and passengers were wounded in the fight. '-There 
was a physician who lived in the town killed in the fight 
and all the bandits escaped and no trace was found of them. 



The Coffeyville Robbery by the Dalton Gang 



We will now call your attention to the famous raid that 
was made by the Dalton Boys on the town of Coffeyville, 
Kansas. It was in this raid that the whole gang met their 
Waterloo. The gang was completely wiped out, with the 
exception of Bill Doolin who was not present, only by ac- 
cident. 

This raid was made in October, 1892, and the whole gang 
had prepared for the raid as an armj'^ would for a battle. 
It had no doubt been planned by the gang to make it one of 
the most successful robberies in all their career as bandits. 
Grat Dalton was killed October 5, 1892. Bob Dalton had 
boasted that the gang would eclipse anything ever accom- 
plished by the James and Younger gangs, and rob two 
banks in one day. This raid was to have shown their abil- 
ity, had they succeeded. The bandits intended likely to re- 
tire for a time after the Coffeevillc raid, for the marshals 
were at that time on their trail. 

The Adair robbery in July, 1892, had fixed their status 
in the Southwest. Both Bob and Grat Dalton were recog- 



158 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

nized at the Adair robbery. Bob was leader of the gang, 
and was one of the most reckless daredevils in the South- 
west. Many of the bandits were wounded at the Adair 
holdup, but how seriously was never known. But at the 
time of this raid every man had recovered and was in fight- 
ing condition. It was a warm sunshiny day; the atmos- 
phere was balmy yet bracing — just such a day in October 
as the people of southern Kansas most enjoy. A brown 
tinge was taken on by the grass at the roadside, and the 
first signs of autumn were shown by the color of the leaves 
that fluttered down from the trees. 

As the morning wore away five men rode into the little 
city, but they seemingly attracted no attention at first. It 
was noticed without comment that they were mounted on 
good horses and had Mexican saddles and all their trappings 
were bright and new. But as cattlemen were coming and 
going every day it was no unusual sight for men to ride in- 
to Coffeeville as these men rode. Any casual observer had 
he been asked to name their occupation would have said 
they were cattlemen following their herds. On the rear 
of their saddles could be seen the old time hair covered 
pockets but it was impossible to know that they contained 
weapons of any kind. Behind their saddles they carried 
their slickers in compact rolls as was the habit of those 
who rode the trail after cattle. Many who saw them 
thought them to be some United States marshal and his 
po^'se, although no guns could be seen, such as they carried, 
including their Winchesters. There was not a gun to be 
seen ; they had them concealed in their coats. They all 
wore very large broad brimmed hats drawn well down over 
their faces and they looked straight ahead as they rode into 
the town. Bob Dalton the leader was disguised ; he wore 
a false mustache and goatee. As he wore no beard, he could 
not have chosen a better disguise. Grat Dalton's face was 
covered by a long shaggy beard ; Emmett Dalton also wore 
a disguise, his features being concealed by a false beard. 
Riding behind were Dick Broadwell and Bill Powers who 
wore no disguise as they were unknown there. The three 
Daltons rode at a slow pace along the main street ; the other 
two following, until they were within a half a block of the 
square. They then turned to the right and rode half a 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 159 

block, disappearing into an alley where they tied their 
horses. Soon they were seen on the principal business 
street. Many farmers were in town that day, and many 
persons gazed at them as they crossed the street. Among 
them was a merchant who saw at a glance that the men 
wore a disguise. He thought they were bank robbers and 
when they entered Cordon bank he was sure of it. Grat 
Dalton, Powers and Broadwell entered the Cordon bank, 
while at the same moment Bob and Emmett Dalton went 
into the First National Bank. The man watching them 
seemed to realize all at once what was taking place. He 
walked down to the Cordon bank and stood looking into the 
window. He saw Grat Dalton pointing a revolver at the 
cashier's head. 



The Passing of the Dalton Gang 

This man who stood watching them ran back up the street 
shouting that the bank was being robbed. There was also 
another man who saw the holdup but he was unable to give 
the alarm, as he was ordered to hold up his hands, having 
followed the men into the bank. As soon as this alarm was 
given it ran like an electric shock up and down the street. 
Guns and revolvers were brought into play and in a short 
time they were firing through the doors and windows of 
the two banks at the bandits. 

The coolness shown by the robbers at this juncture was 
marvelous. They were not panic stricken as one would 
suppose but went calmly about receiving the money handed 
them placing it in sacks they had brought for this purpose. 
It required only a short time, as the bandits worked fast, 
for them to get the money, and by this time the '=;treets near 
the banks were filled with men, many armed with Win- 
chesters, and some carrying shotguns. 

As the three outlaws came out of the Cordon bank a 
heavy fire from all sides was directed at them. They came 
out with Winchesters in their hands and many of the peo- 
ple in the streets sought places of refuge. The two Dal- 
tons had robbed the First National Bank and were ready 
to leave, but as they came out they were met by a rain of 



160 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

bullets, and were forced to turn back and leave by a rear 
door into an alley fighting as they ran. 

Grat Dalton and the two bandits with him came out at the 
front door of the bank with bullets pattering all about them. 
The blood was dripping from the sleeve of one of the rob- 
bers when they emerged from the bank. He carried a six 
shooter in the other hand and was seemingly as cool as any 
man in the crowd. Within fifteen minutes from the time 
they entered the banks, four of the outlaws had been killed 
and the fifth Emmett Dalton had been captured, with a 
bullet through his left arm and another through his left 
hip. Emmett Dalton and his brother Grat ran through the 
alley until they came to their horses. Emmett succeeded 
in mounting and might have escaped had he not returned to 
where his brother lay dying, reached down, took hold of 
Grafs hand tried to raise him to a place behind him on the 
horse. While he was trying to rescue his brother he was 
struck in the back by a heavy charge from a shot gun at 
close range. He reeled in his saddle and fell to the ground. 
Dick Broadwell succeeded in reaching his horse but was 
struck by a bullet about the same time. He clung to his 
horse, bleeding from these fatal wounds and dashed out 
over the road by which they had entered the town. A little 
later his body was found by the roadside, his faithful horse 
standing beside it. 

Dick Broadwell and Bill Powers were both killed October 
5, 1892. Four of the bandits were killed in the fight, and 
four citizens of Coffeyville were killed. They were Lucies 
M. Baldwin, George B. Cubine, Charles Brown and City 
Marshal Charles T. Connelly. The mother of the Daltons 
was notified and during the meantime the bodies of the 
four bandits were taken to the jail where they remained un- 
til the arrival of the mother who was accompanied by their 
two brothers, William and Ben Dalton. Emmett Dalton 
was removed to the jail at Independence when he was suffi- 
ciently recovered. 

Upon investigation, it was found that the robbers had 
taken $11,000 from the First National Bank and $20,000 
from the Cordon bank. This was all returned to the banks 
with the exception of $20, which was never found. The 
Coffeyville raid was as disastrous to the Dalton gang as 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 161 

the Northfield raid was to the Youngers many years be- 
fore. This was the end of the Dalton gang in the South- 
west, but not the end of outlaw days. Others followed but 
met the same fate. ^The career of some were short, others 
scouted longer, but in the end all fell before the strong arm 
of the law. 



The Death of Bill Doolin 

Bill Doolin was a member of the Dalton gang in good 
standing at the time of the Coffeyville raid, and no doubt 
it was the condition of his horse that prevented him from 
being a participant in this fight. It was said that Doolin's 
horse became lame just before entering the town and if it 
had not been for this he no doubt would have been in the 
death trap too, for it was planned to have three men enter 
each Bank. And if there had been another one in the gang 
there is no way of knowing just how the scale would have 
turned. It might have been in their favor. But on the 
other hand he might have shared the fate of the others. 
But as he did not join them in time to participate in the 
Coffeyville raid he was spared five years longer to commit 
such deeds of lawless courage that gained for him the repu- 
tation of being the most notorious gunmen in the Southwest, 
a country already noted for its bad men. 

Doolin's horse became lame and he was bitterly disap- 
pointed after he had ridden with them part of the way 
toward the place where they met defeat and death. Doolin 
had been with the Daltons for some time before this raid, 
and helped to make their plans, which was to be the most 
daring and successful raid they had ever engaged in. Doo- 
lin's horse becoming lame, he was forced to go the home 
of a friend, far from the road to Coffeyville, with the in- 
tention of getting a horse that would come up to the re- 
quirements of such an undertaking. This was the night 
before the raid. He was to meet the gang at an appointed 
place near the Kansas town, but on reaching the place 
found that he was too late. He rode on toward the town 
but something seemed to hold him back. He could see in 
a distance the smoke from the chimneys of the town and 



162 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

as he reached the top of the hills he could see the roofs of 
the houses, but he did not urge his horse on as fast as he 
might have traveled, but seemed to be waiting for some- 
thing, he knew not what. 

Presently he saw a man riding toward him as fast as his 
horse could carry him. He was so excited Doolin could 
scarcely understand him, but as he tried to tell of what 
had happened in Coffeyville Doolin gathered the facts from 
his disjointed sentences, that his comrades had come to an 
untimely end, which awaited them all if they persisted in 
their lawless deeds. 

This bandit, realizing his own danger and knowing his re- 
lation was suspected and even known bj^ some, and not 
knowing how soon a posse might come, then and there took 
the ride for his* life. It was a ride for safety by a man 
who knew that the terror of death lay behind him, and did 
not know at what moment it might overtake him and sieze 
him in its grasp. It was not the fleeing of a coward but of 
a desperado whose companions lay cold in death. Doolin was 
riding a thoroughbred and he was a fit rider for such an 
animal. At first he traveled slowly while his horse was 
becoming warmed up to the gait he was to travel. Later 
the animal settled down to a long stride that was to carry 
the outlaw beyond danger. Flitting by ranch and farm in 
the night like a ghostly rider saddled upon the wind, Doo- 
lin stopped only to give his horse breathing spells and reel- 
ing off mile after mile, he crossed the territory and reached 
the old haunt of his gang, a cow ranch on the Cimarron 
twenty-five miles west of Tulsa. He knew after reaching 
there he was safe to rest. But the fate of the Daltons did 
not lead him to give up the outlaw life. Instead of e'^cap- 
ing out of the country and turning back to honest life, it 
seemed that a craving for the outlaw life was upon him. 
He had the courage that was required of a bandit; death 
had no terror that he was not willing to face. He thirsted 
for the excitement that came in bank and train robberies. 
Years later he tried to quit and might have done so had 
he not been killed. 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 163 
The Doolin Gang 

Bill Doolin was the son of Mack Doolin, a poor farmer in 
Arkansas. He was ignorant and unlearned, and had not 
even a common school education. But in later years he 
learned to read and also to write a little. After he had 
grown to manhood, Doolin went to Oklahoma to work on 
a ranch, on the Cimarron thirteen miles northeast of where 
Guthrie now stands. He was employed there as a rail split- 
ter, the rails being Used to build cattle corrals. 

This was seven years before the territory was opened 
up for settlement. Later Doolin became a cowboy, a rider 
of bucking bronchos and an expert with a lariat and Win- 
chester. He rested for a time at this ranch, then returned 
to the old life. He had no reason for being an outlaw other 
than he liked the wild life and the daredevil was in him. 

He made his headquarters in the Creek Nation fifteen 
miles east of Ingalls, and there he organized his own gang 
of desperate men. This gang became the most widely 
known of any that had gone before. Its members commit- 
ted most daring acts of outlawry. Doolin's companions 
were dangerous, murderous and reckless men, though Dool- 
in himself was not bloodthirsty, and during the years of out- 
law life that followed, he many times restrained his com- 
panions from committing wanton murder. 

In the Doolin gang was Bill Dalton, one of the Dalton 
brothers who had not always scouted with the others in 
their wild days. Another was George Newcomb known as 
Bitter Creek, alias Slaughter Kid, He had grown to man- 
hood in the Cherokee Strip. There he was employed by a 
man named Slaughter and in this was derived the name 
Slaughter Kid. 

Bill Doolin was killed August 25, 1896. George Weight- 
man was another member of this gang; he was a noted 
horse theif , and became the most notorious Red Buck of the 
Doolin gang, and was known to every officer in the terri- 
tory. He was arrested by Heck Thomas in 1889 for horse 
stealing, convicted and sent to the penitentiary, where he re- 
mained until 1993. Within thirty days after he was re- 
leased he had stolen seven horses, which he took to Ingalls 
and there joined the wild bunch, as the Doolin gang was 



164 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

called at this time. Another member of the gang, known 
as Little Bill, came to the Indian Territory from Pennsyl- 
vania and was of Dutch ancestry. He was by far the best 
educated man in the bunch. He was uncommonly intelli- 
gent. He always rode with Doolin and among the men was 
distinguished from the leader as Little Bill. His real name 
is not used in this book for the reason that he has relatives 
now living in Oklahoma. 

Charlie Pierce became a member of the Doolin gang in 
1894. He came from Texas, and was a resident of Paw- 
nee before he became an outlaw. Pierce was known as a 
race horse man and brought with him two running horses. 
He was of a wild nature and made an ideal character for an 
outlaw. 

Bill Dalton was killed in June, 1894. 



Dick West, Alias Little Dick 

Dick West became a famous member of the Doolin gang 
organized by Doolin at the old Dalton cave in the Creek 
Nation. West was in reality a remarkable character, very 
modest and unassuming. He remained with this gang un- 
til it was broken up later. He was the leader of the gang 
known as the Jennings gang, although he was not known 
by his name. In 1881 when only a boy sixteen years of age, 
this outlaw, known as Little Dick, was picked up on the 
streets of Decater,<Texas, by the foreman of the Three Cir- 
cle ranch. He was taken to the ranch in Clay county and 
worked there until the next spring. He was then employed 
by Oscar Halsell and went north with him bringing up all 
the loose horses Halsell located on the south side of the 
Cimarron, thirteen miles from where Guthrie ribw stands, 
and esablished the XH Bar ranch there. West M^orked on 
this ranch until the opening up of the country for settle- 
ment in 1889. Up to this time he was an honest cowboy 
with no bad habits except those that were common to all 
cowpunchers. He would go to town, drink and gamble his 
wages away, and shoot up the town with the rest of them. 
The XH ranch was abandoned in the spring of 1889 when 
the country was opened for settlement, which left hundreds 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 165 

of cowboys out of employment. Most of these were young 
men and they loved the free life of the open. They wore 
"^purs, broad brimmed hats and belts of the cowpuncher, 
the six shooter being suspended from the sagging belt. It 
was too much to expect that these men would follow the 
plow breaking up the sod over which they roamed with so 
much freedom. Some of them did become farmhands, oth- 
ers took claims and became farmers, and afterwards be- 
came prosperous and contented. Many however wandered 
away, no one knows where. Little Dick had become too wild 
to settle down to such a tame life. He drifted over to the 
Indian country and worked on cow ranches until 1893, when 
he joined the outlaw gang and became one of the most noted 
scouters in the territory. 

West was different from most of his companions. He 
was always for an outdoor life while the others sought 
good beds and warm rooms especially when they could be 
found in cold weather. But Little Dick could lie out in the 
woods on his saddle blanket. Many times when the gang 
would be surrounded in a ranch house or some other hiding 
place. Little Dick would escape without a fight, for he was 
outside asleep; the stars were his roof. 

Little Dick was one of the best among them with a six 
shooter. He was a game fighter and the officers who knew 
him knew that he would never be captured alive. 

Other members of the Doolin gang when it was organ- 
ized, were Jack Blake, alias Tulsa Jack and Dan Clifton, 
alias Dynamite Dick. These men had all been cowboys and 
came from different sections of the country. They still 
wore the garb of the ranch riders. They were suspected 
long before it was known that they were outlaws. But it 
paid men of honesty and means to favor them when asked 
and to know nothing about them when questiond by the 
officers. Cattlemen and farmers were at their mercy and 
dared not refuse them shelter when asked to do so, and of- 
ten notified them of the movements of the officers, although 
they had no sympathy for them. 



166 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

Rose of Cimarron 

It was through the acquaintance of the bandits with the 
settlers that this girl came to know these bandits. She be- 
came enamored with one of the bandits. It has been many 
years and many changes have been made since these outlaws 
rode the range, and scouted in Oklahoma. This girl who 
fell in love with the outlaw is today the wife of a respected 
citizen and a Christian woman beloved as a wife and mother, 
and lives in the atmosphere of a good home. Therefore she 
will be known in this book only as the Rose of Cimarron 
as she was known in those wild days. 

The crimes and robberies charged to the Doolin gang 
were almost numberless. When they wanted horses they 
took the best to be found, taking them from the farmers of 
the territory. They were desperate men and always avoid- 
ed fights with the marshals if possible. At times their es- 
cape seemed almost miraculous, but always they had help 
from friends. It was astonishing to the marshals when they 
learned that the outlaws were being helped by one of the 
most beautiful girls in the Southwest. 

Near the little town of Ingalls was a cave known as the 
Creek Nation cave which was the headquarters of this out- 
law gang for many years. They were well known by the 
citizens of Ingalls and had no fear of them. They had 
many friends in the town, and those that were not friendly 
to them were wise enough to say nothing. The Doolin gang 
had at this time reached the height of their success. The 
fight at Ingalls marked the beginning of the end for the 
desperadoes of the iSouthwest. ^This gang had robbed many 
trains and banks in Oklahoma and the Southwest. They 
made the Territory an unsafe place to live in. The rail- 
roads were heavy losers, on account of the outlaws, because 
people would not travel on the trains through the territory 
if it could be avoided, but after the fight at Ingalls their 
success seemed to be on the down grade. It was after this 
fight the Three Guardsmen were sent out after the bandits. 

Bill Doolin, Bill Dalton, Bitter Creek and Tulsa Jack had 
robbed a train at Cimarron, Kansas, on the night of May 
28, 1893, and were pursued by the officers. They were en- 
gaged in several fights with the officers on the way back 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 167 

to the Territory, and in one of these fights Doolin was shot 
through the foot by some one in Marshal Chris Madsen's 
posse. He was taken to the Cheyenne Country, twenty-five 
miles southwest of Woodward to a ranch where Arkansas 
Tom had worked. He was kept there several days, until 
the wounded foot was better; Arkansas Tom then took him 
to Ingalls. 



The Fight at Ingalls 

On the first day of September, 1893, Marshal Hixcn, 
James Masterson, Lafe Shadley, Dick Speed and A. H. 
Houston led a posse to Ingalls with the intention, if possible, 
to capture the Doolin gang of outlawis. They rode into town 
in farm wagons, which aroused no suspicion. Each located 
at a different place to the best advantage, and sent a re- 
quest to Doolin to surrender. The messenger returned, no- 
tifying the officers that Doolin refused and bade them go 
to a warmer climate. 

In a short time the battle of Ingalls was on. Winchesters 
and six-shooters began sending leaden messengers; mar- 
shals and outlaws fought through the street hiding behind 
buildings or any shelter that could be found, all knowing 
that it meant a fight to death. 

It was during the thickest of the fight that the Rose of 
Cimarron did a thing that made it possible for the outlaws 
to escape. She was in love with Bitter Creek and carried 
him a Winchester through such a fight as had never been 
known in the Southwest. Puffs of smoke could be seen 
here and there ; each meant that a bullet had been sent to a 
mark, with the intention that it would carry with it death. 
A stranger passing would have thought the town deserted, 
except for these little wreaths of smoke, then probably the 
next moment he would see men dash from one place to an- 
other, on horseback or afoot, then fall to the ground; then 
for a time the fight would stop, but would start again at 
the appearance of an officer or a bandit. 

The Rose of Cimarron was in Mrs. Pierces hotel when she 
heard the first shot. IShe instantly knew the cause and 
ran to her lover's room, saw his Winchester there and knew 



168 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

he needed it. She could see that all chance for escape from 
the hotel was cut off. She ran through the room occupied 
by Arkansas Tom who was caught in the hotel, she heard 
the crash of glass and crockery, for the fire was centered 
on that room. 

The Rose of Cimarron took her sweetheart's rifle and 
ammunition belt, and escaped from a second story window 
of the hotel, by tearing bed clothes into strips and tying 
them to the bed post, climbing out the window safely to 
the ground. The girl must have placed some confidence in 
the officers as to their love and regards for a woman; she 
must have believed that they would not shoot a woman, 
even at a time and in a fight when no one was being saved 
on either side. 

She had no assurance that she would not be killed and yet 
for her lover's sake she took a chance and braved all dan- 
ger, and concealing a gun and a belt well filled with cart- 
ridges as best she could, she hid the guns in her skirt and 
ran out into the open field where bullets were falling like 
hail from the guns of both the officers and outlaws. 

Flushed and breathless, but unafraid, she carried the gun 
to Bitter Creek who by this time was grievously wounded, 
but she gave the gun to another outlaw and it was used by 
him in the fight. 

This great fight lasted more than an hour and at the end 
of that time dead men could be seen everywhere, lying in 
the streets, and a number were found dead and wounded 
in their hiding places. 

During this fight Mr. Houston and Mr. Speed were both 
killed, and Mr. Shadley met his death a little later. Ar- 
kansas Tom, the outlaw that took care of Doolin while 
wounded at the ranch in the Cheyenne Country when he 
was wounded, was sick in a room in a hotel when the fight 
started. He got out of his bed and from the window used 
his gun the very best he could. The shots from the window 
attracted the attention of the officers to the room he was 
in, so they began to center their fire upon this room 
and they sent a shower of bullets through the window, it was 
then Arkansas Tom moved from the window and took his 
stand by a dresser that set in the room, and as he stood 
there, a bullet struck a pitcher and bowl and smashed it all 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 169 

to pieces and splattered the water upon the man. He dared 
not approach the window again, and it was then he started 
to leave the room when another bullet from an officer's gun 
crashed into the mirror above the bureau which scattered 
broken glass all over the apartment. 

Then the outlaw felt hopeless as to victory for the outlaws 
and took his gun and fled to the upper garret of the house 
and there tore a hole through the roof of the house and 
continued to fight until his ammunition was all gone. 

He was then persuaded by the woman of the hotel to sur- 
render to the officers. He then gave himself up to them 
as the house was still being riddled with bullets, but bear 
in mind, reader, that this man was indeed game to the 
last mcment ; he fought to his last cartridge and then contin- 
ued to snap his empty gun hoping there was another load 
in it. 

Bitter Creek was lying on the ground badly wounded but 
some one of his outlaw comrades lifted him to a place be- 
hind him on his horse and then spirited him away to the 
mountains. He was first placed en his own horse but be- 
ing unable to ride alone he was placed on another. 

It was after Arkansas Tom was routed from the hotel 
and forced to surrender that officers concentrated their ef- 
forts and completely surrounded a barn in which most all 
the outlaws were hiding. Some of the outlaws had already 
escaped from the barn when the officers made their attack 
on it. In fact this place was a livery stable in which there 
was a number of horses, but in some way the horses all es- 
caped uninjured notwithstanding the whole front of the 
barn was completely demolished with bullets. 

When the attack was made on the stable by the officers, 
one of the outlaws picked up his gun and started toward 
the front of the barn that a hail of bullets was riddling, 
when Doolin one of the outlaws shouted to him "Come back, 
they will kill you." The outlaw stopped and returned to 
the rear of the barn, then Doolin picked up his gun and 
started to the front of the barn then the other outlaw said 
to him, "Won't they kill you?" Then Doolin said, "That is 
all right, you stay back, that makes no difference about 
me." Then Bill Doolin and Bill Dalton went to the front of 
the barn and fired several shots. 



170 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

They drove back the officers that were in sight and then 
made their getaway. These two outlaws fought the fight 
with the officers while the other outlaws were making their 
getaway from behind the barn. 

It was here that Marshal Speed lost his life. Bill Doolin 
killed him the first shot that he fired at the officer. Dalton 
was looking out through a crack in the barn and saw 
where the first bullet struck and he said to Doolin, "You 
missed him." Then Doolin placed his elbow on his knee, 
his gun in his hand, took dead aim and then fired and the 
officer fell dead. "You got him that time," said Dalton, and 
while the other officers were caring for Mr. Sneed, Doolin 
and Dalton both mounted their horses and fled in a south- 
western direction, but one of the gang was so badly wound- 
ed that he did not get very far from the little town ; he fell 
from his horse and was not missed by his comrades until 
they had traveled several miles. Two of them then re- 
turned and found him and lifted him up behind them and 
carried him to safety. 

Now it was Bitter Creek and one other of the outlaws 
that were so badly wounded and later rescued and carried 
to what was believed by the outlaws to be a place ^f safety. 
In a short time came the officers in pursuit of them. They 
had now reached what they believed to be fairly good hiding 
place, and the two bandits lay there bleeding and helpless, 
and by this time Dalton and Doolin had joined the gang and 
they were all together when the officers came upon them, 
and when Bill Dalton saw Mr. Shadley and others of the 
posse coming in pursuit he raised his gun and killed the of- 
ficer the first shot. When the marshal was killed he was 
trying to stop his horse with his gun in his hand. 

At the same time Dalton's horse was killed from under 
him by some one of the officers, it was never known which 
one. When the outlaw's horse was killed he fell to the 
ground and rolled over and over until he reached a ditch. 

The killing of the officer, Mr. Shadley, staid further at- 
tack by the posse and the two outlaws that were wounded 
and suffering and unable to get away were taken by two 
bandits on their horses through the timber out of reach of 
the officers' gun fire. They soon reached the cave known 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 171 

as the outlaw cave. Bitter Creek was still alive but he was 
suffering intensely from his wounds. 

Those of the outlaw gang that escaped alive from the 
Ingalls fight were Bill Doolin and Bill Dalton, Bitter Creek, 
Tulsa Jack and Dynamite Dick and Little Bill. In this 
cave they were comparatively safe and they dared not leave 
it. 

They had many friends throughout the county but none 
like the beautiful Rose of Cimarron who was in love with 
Bitter Creek. She carried them food and bandages and 
medicine and many other things that they were so much in 
need of and also kept them informed as to the movements 
of all officers in the country. 

Now as a result of the Ingalls fight, the farmers through- 
out the country organized and started a hunt for this out- 
law gang, which made it indeed difficult and hard for the 
outlaw and bandits to operate. 

This act on the part of the farmers was because the out- 
laws were stealing many of their horses and driving them 
into Texas and Kansas and selling them there. Many of 
the thefts were charged to the Dalton and Doolin gangs. 
On one occasion a very large posse of farmers followed this 
gang of outlaws and bandits to their hiding place in one of 
their caves, or a canyon in the mountains, and as they ap- 
proached the outlaw camp the bandits opened fire on them, 
killing Bill Stormer, the leader, and routing the whole posse 
without any more fighting. 



Bill Doolin's Courtship and Marriage 

It was early in his life as a bandit that Bill Doolin met 
and fell in love with the beautiful Miss Edith Ellsworth, 
who was the daughter of a well known minister. The girl 
might have had reasons to believe that her lover was an 
outlaw before marriage but no one ever knew she had a 
knowledge of his life before their marriage. 

But likely she had reason to believe that he was an out- 
law the first time she met him, but no doubt there was 
about him a dashing and debonair way that attracted her 
so much she found herself so in love with him that she 



172 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

could not say no when asked to become his wife. To the 
contrary, ishe became the wife of one of the most desperate 
and widest known bandits in all the Southwest. 

He was tall and straight; his hair was long and wavy, 
hanging in masses of curls over his forehead ; he had no 
education whatsoever, but was young and indeed handsome, 
and there was about him a mystery that deceived the preach- 
er's daughter. We are sure that it will be hard to under- 
stand by our readers how it could have been that a minis- 
ter's daughter became the wife of the most noted outlaw 
the country ever knew, but it is true. He was only a cow- 
boy and a daring rider — a true type — the product of the wild 
Southwest. He was no doubt pictured as an ideal in the 
mind of the girl, and she loved him, too. As we have said, 
it was not certain that the girl knew that Doolin was an 
outlaw the first time she met him, but when she found out 
for sure that he was and also the leader of one of the worst 
outlaw gangs in all the country she held to him all the more, 
Doolin courted the girl with all carefulness kept concealed 
from her all things pertaining to his life in the past or his 
intentions for the future, but he finally won her. Doolin 
no doubt loved her more than he did his own life. His love 
for her was proven by what he ri'^ked in going to see her 
during their courtship. There was no time in his bandit 
career that he ran more risks of death and capture than 
when he went to visit her. He would often swim swollen 
streams to see his sweetheart, and would make long rides 
in the silent hours of night, in order to avoid all pos'=ibili- 
ties of coming in touch with officers, often only to spend a 
few moments with the girl he loved. At the same time a 
reward was offered for his capture dead or alive. They were 
married in the spring of 1894. It was indeed a strange 
alliance let it be said, but let us remember that love does 
many strange things. After their marriage, Doolin was 
hunted everywhere by officers. And at the same time he 
made long and dangerous journeys that he might be with 
his beautiful bride a few hours of the time. Now after 
their marriage the girl, without hesitation, accpeted her 
position as the wife of an outlaw, and she seemed to care 
but little who knew it. After he had made a long and dan- 
gerous ride to be with her, she would watch the whole night 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 173 

through while he slept. Many times she saved him from 
death or capture, and, strange to say, too, while he lived the 
bandit life her love for him did not fail. She had married 
a bandit, and true to him did she live to the end. 

With her it was true until death bid them part. " 

The life of an outlaw kept Doolin from seeing his wife 
for months, for it was about the time that the Doolin and 
Dalton gangs were being hunted most, and the time when 
the gang was most active in its operations. Doolin was 
prosperous at times as a robber but it was not a prosperity 
that could be enjoyed, but a life of continually haunted day 
and night and a hell on earth — at last the prison cell or the 
gallows and the home of the soul eternal, hell-fire, where 
the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. It was said 
the most trying hour of his married life was when he re- 
turned to his wife after a long absence and that she was 
about to become a mother. Even then he only remained 
a few hours with her. Then some months later again he 
lured the officers, and went to see her. She was holding their 
baby boy in her arms. It was said that this was the first 
time in the outlaw's life that tears came to his eyes, and 
that he seemed to long for a peaceful existence. No doubt 
it was this moment, while he stood looking upon his wife 
and baby boy, that he was gripped with such a yearning 
for a peaceful and quiet life that finally he was led to em- 
bark upon such a life. But this good impulse meant his fate, 
capture and death. 

But before he died he made a ret;ord of crime that sur- 
passed any other bandit or outlaw that ever lived in the 
Sounthwest, the land of many criminals. He was the king 
of all outlaws of modern times. His acts and deeds did 
rival those of the James and the Younger brothers. 

He reached a pinnacle of notoriety as high as that at- 
tained by any other bandit ever known in the history of 
the world. 



Hunting the Doolin Gang 

Things had been going from bad to worse in Old Okla- 
homa and the Indian Territories, trains were being robbed 



174 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

everywhere and the early settlers of the country were 
so terrorized by outlaws and bandits that something had to 
be done. The officers had been unable to break up the 
Doolin gang, for the outlaws had many friends throughout 
the country and these friends would hide them and warn 
them when danger approached. Let us remember it was 
after the fight at Ingalls that Mr. Nix, a United States Mar- 
shal, sent the three following officers on the trail of the 
bandits. Tilghman, Madsen and Heck Thomas and they 
engaged in many fights against the outlaws; they trailed 
them miles and miles and kept up the hunt until the last 
one was killed or behind prison bars. 

These three officers encountered many dangers and en- 
dured hardships that no other officers of the Southwest 
ever endured. But through it all they were cool, quiet men, 
and unassuming. The courage they possessed, however, 
would have made Shermans or Sheridans of them had they 
lived in an early day. They trailed the outlaw from place 
to place, into their remote hiding places, even the forest of 
the Osage Nation, and the fastness of the Wichita moun- 
tains. After they had been given government permission, 
the marshals prepared wagons and equipped them for a long 
and lengthy journey and took saddle horses with them also. 
They then went in pursuit of the Doolin gang of outlaws. 
They had learned that one of the hiding places was the 
old Rock Ford on Deer Creek in Payne County. 

This ford was said to be the meeting place of many bad 
characters as well as the Doolin gang. The officers on the 
way to the ford met by chance one of the girls that was later 
identified as one of the gang, but who was not known at the 
time to have any connection with the gang. The officers 
made several inquiries of her concerning the passing of 
strange men, but she evaded their questions giving them 
unsatisfactory answers. It was not known to the officers 
until later that the girl was Cattle Annie, the one who kept 
bandits informed about the movements of the officers. 

The girl sent a message at once to the hiding places of the 
outlaws. It warned them that the officers were after them. 
On the final stretch a rider was sent to tell the outlaws of 
the approaching officers. The bandits then dispersed, 
scattered abroad, and met again later at a hiding place un- 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 175 

known to the officers. The officers found it difficult to 
trace the bandits for they were invariably warned by some- 
one of the officers' approach, and not knowing that some one 
had warned the outlaws* the officers went on to the Rock 
Ford and surrounded the place and at a favorable time 
closed in upon it only to find that the outlaws were gone. 
But there were five or six other men there, no doubt cat- 
tle theives and bad men, but not the men the officers were 
wanting. Disappointed but not discouraged, after learn- 
ing from these men and the owners of the ranches — likely 
they knew nothing to tell — the officers took up the outlaws' 
trail and went to Ingalls where they learned something of 
the direction in which the outliiws had gone. 

So from this time the three officers determined more and 
more to accomplish their great mission to which they were 
sent ; so they started a pursuit that would have made thril- 
ling reading to all of our readers if there had been any way 
of knowing the thrilling experiences of these three officers 
of the law as they must have suffered every privation that 
could have come to officers of the law in the early days of 
the Southwest. But knowing that the Government was be- 
hind them and for their oath's sake they were willing to 
lay down their lives as men who believed in good govern- 
ment, that the land of Oklahoma and the Indian Territory 
might be a home of liberty loving and law abiding citizens, 
and not the land only of the heathen Indian, outlaws and 
bandits. So on they went on their mission or task of cap- 
turing or killing the bandits, for they had determined that 
they would not fail until the last man of the outlaw gang was 
killed or in the prison cell. Sometimes the officers were on- 
ly a few hours behind the outlaws, but it was difficult to 
make rapid progress and stay on the right trail, because so 
many of those of whom they inquired were afraid to give 
any information about the Doolin gang. They dared not tell 
what they knew about these outlaws, for if they did the 
bandits would kill them or burn their homes and their prop- 
erty. 

This made it almost impossible for the posse to make 
great progress in their work, and even when they obtained 
information from outsiders, it was not always reliable. A 
day or two after they had started on the trail the posse 



176 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

stopped for dinner at the home of an Indian. There they 
made inquiries about the outlaws and found that they had 
been there the evening before. The outlaws had eaten a 
meal with the Indian and told him that another party would 
come along in a few days and would pay him for the meal 
that they had eaten with him. 

This was only a joke of the outlaws and it also proved 
that they knew the officers were on their trail. It was 
about this time that the Doolin gang left the Territories and 
went to Arkansas. They went to Hot Springs; just why 
they went there at this time has never been known unless 
the members of the gang were' in search of a chance to rob 
a bank. They no doubt found several banks in that place 
with money heaped on the counters and were in the act of 
robbing one bank when Little Dick, who was a spy for the 
gang turned a corner and came upon a policeman. The cut- 
law recognized him as being one of the gunfighters of 
the Southwest. The officer's reputation for bravery and his 
accuracy in using a revolver was also recognized by the 
outlaw. 

This likely saved Hot Springs from a bank robbery that 
day. This officer had not always been a man in a blue uni- 
form ; he had in other days been an officer in the open field 
and had a reputation for being a dead shot with a six- 
shooter, and after the outlaw saw him the Doolin gang left 
at once for other fields. 

From Hot Springs they went to the southwest part of 
Missouri where on May 20, 1894, they committed one of 
the most noted bank robberies in the history of the Doolin 
gang. It came near being a disastrou"^ one for them. It 
was, indeed, a narrow escape from death for each of the 
gang, as they had to fight every foot of the way to freedom. 
Many citizens and officers united to kill or capture them. 
Mr. Seaborn, 'State Auditor at that time, was killed in the 
fight ; he was shot to death by Little Bill, and in this same 
fight Bill Doolin was wounded in the head. 

When the bandits came out of the bank they met a hail 
of bullets coming from such weapons as the citizens could 
gather when they learned that the bank was being robbed. 
It was then that Mr. J. C. Seaborn and his brother hearing 
the unusual noise, ran out to learn the cause. The brother of 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 177 

the former state auditor was standing in open view of the 
outlaw, Little Bill. As he passed with two guns, one in 
each hand, firing at those on the sidewalk, doubtless he saw 
the two officers standing and he sent a bullet direct at them. 
The bullet passed through the body of one of the officers 
and killed the other one. The fight was kept up until the 
bandits reached their horses and, mounting them under 
heavy fire, rode out of town. They cros'=ed the Cherokee 
and Creek Nations back into Old Oklahoma where they were 
soon hidden away in the wilds of the Southwest. 

When next heard of, these robbers were in Texas where 
they looted a bank and took $50,000 in unsigned bank notes. 
Little Bill, who had had some experience in the business 
world, was the only one of the bandits who knew the money 
could not be passed without the signature of the bank of- 
ficials. 

Then the reign of terror in the Territories was resumed. 
Little Bill and George Newcomb, alias Bitter Creek, went to 
Woodward on one of the most daring expeditions on record 
in the annals of frontier crimes. Tying their horses in the 
stock yards, they waited for nightfall and then went to the 
home of the staion agent, who was also the agent of the 
Wells-Fargo Express Company. They had in some way 
gotten information about a shipment of money made by ex- 
press. After capturing the agent they compelled him to go 
to the station with them. At the muzzle of a gun they 
forced him to open the safe, from which they took express 
packages containing $6,500, received that day for a ship- 
ment of cattle. Little Bill and Bitter Creek must have re- 
ceived the largest part of this, but it was supposed that it 
was divided also among the other bandits. It was learned 
afterwards they went to the Worlds Fair at Chicago 
on the proceeds of this robbery. When Little Bill was 
shot by Marshal Tilghman in a duel in a cattle corral, he 
had two fine revolvers he had bought during his visit in 
Chicago. The officers knew all this time that they were pre- 
vented from capturing the Doolin gang by some cattlemen 
and others who found it to their Interest to remain on 
friendly terms with the desperadoes. One case of that kind 
was brought to light when a cattleman named Isaacs sent 
a large ^-hipment of cattle to Kansas City and planned with 



178 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

these bandits to swindle the express company. Isaacs did 
not take the bandits into his confidence, so it was his in- 
tention to double cross them as well as the express com- 
pany. Isaacs shipped his cattle from Canadian City and 
went with them to Kansas City. He was paid in cash 
for this shipment but it was not known at this time. 
He gave out the information where he knew the bandits 
would get hold of it, that a shipment of $5,000 would be 
made by express at a certain time. Then he sent by ex- 
press a worthless bundle of paper about as large in bulk 
as the currency would have been, and awaited results. 

The holdup was attempted, but the bandits waited until 
the supposed package reached the depot at Canadian City. 

During this time the marshals had prepared to protect 
the depot. When the Doolin gang appeared there was a 
hard fight at the little station and Sheriff McGee was shot 
to death, '-^rhe bandits were driven away and it was then 
found that the package contained only worthless papers. 
Afterwards Isaacs was charged with this offense and con- 
victed of an attempt to swindle the express company. 

There were also girl bandits in the Doolin gang, and in- 
variably these outlaw girls were the sweethearts of some 
one of the outlaw gang, but among them all, there was none 
like the girl that Bill Doolin married. But the love for the 
outlaw gang affected a number of girls in those days as the 
girls themselves were largely influenced and had a strong 
tendency for the outlaw life. It is hard for us to under- 
stand, but it is true that girls in the early days of the South- 
west had more or less love and admiration for the outlaw 
and bandit. It was no doubt due to the reputed bravery 
of the outlaws. It has been said by some of our greatest 
writers that women in all ages had great respect for fight- 
ing men, and the conditions under which they did the fight- 
ing, whether honorable or dishonorable, affected the love 
of these women but little if any. The love of these women 
in the early days of the Southwest for the bandit and out- 
law might have been caused by public sentiment against the 
outlaw gang. And also the sufferings and privations that 
they endured at the hand of federal officers and others, 
that they might live no doubt had much to do in drawing 
these girls into the outlaw life. 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 179 

Among those involved was a girl known as Cattle Annie, 
who was only a girl in her teens when she became the 
sweetheart of an outlaw. It was said that she was the 
daughter of a fine and respectable family, and her first 
meeting with the bandit was at a dance. Well so much for 
the dance anyhow. 

A girl known as Little Breeches was also another out- 
law, at seventeen years of age. In her life and character 
much of the outlaw daredevil spirit was found. When she 
was later captured it was learned that these two girls fol- 
lowed the outlaws, acted as spies and shielded them when 
they could. 

The girl bandits no doubt gave the officers much trouble, 
and prolonged the outlaw and bandit operations in the early 
days of the country, especially the Doolin gang. For they 
interf erred greatly with the officers in trailing them. The 
girls were as active as the bandits themselves, especially 
in horse stealing, cattle rustling, directing the officers 
wrongfully, carrying messages from one outlaw headquar- 
ters to another and keeping them well informed as to the 
movements of federal officers. They also supplied the out- 
laws with much of their supplies, such as horses, food, guns 
and ammunition. 

It was Mr. J. S. Burke, a federal officer who later in 
years became a powerfull preacher of the gospel, and Wil- 
liam Tilgham that put an end to the operations of the girl 
bandits. They heard that the girls were stopping at one of 
their holdout places and went there to capture them. They 
found where they had taken refuge but upon the approach 
of officers, they tried to make their getaway when Mar- 
shal Burke, guarding the outside of the building, went in, 
expecting to meet a warm reception, for the girls were 
armed and their nerve and bravery were not questioned. Cat- 
tle Annie leaped from a window and was so stunned for a 
minute that she was caught by the outside officer. Little 
Breeches escaped from the building in a way unknown to 
the officers, mounted her horse and gave them a long hard 
chase, firing at them over her shoulder as she fled. But 
somehow none of her shots took effect. 

Marshal Tilghman, shooting her horse, brought both 
crashing to the ground. The girls foot was fastened under 



180 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

the horse rendering her powerless. But after the Marshal re- 
leased her, she fought him to the last ditch but he finally 
overpowered her and carried her away. She was a true 
type of the Southwest as it was then. 

Both girls were tried before Judge A. G. C. Bierer of the 
Fourth District of the Oklahoma Territory on a charge of 
horse theft and sentenced to a reformatory at Farmington, 
Massachusetts. It was said of them that they gloried in 
the fact, and freely expressed themselves during their trial 
that they were members of the outlaw gang, but denied ever 
riding with the outlaws on their raids or being in any of 
their holdups or robberies, but were members of the gang 
in every way possible for them to be. 

We will only call your attention by the way of a few lines 
to a very important event. It was in January 1895, a very 
cold winter day; the whole earth was covered with snow. 
While still on the trail of the bandits. Marshal Tilghman had 
an experience that few men ever had and lived. It was at 
an outlaw headquarters known as the Rock Ford, that the 
outlaws had a very large dugout. Here Bill Doolin saved 
Mr. Tilghman's life. Mr. Tilghman and one Mr. Brown left 
Guthrie in a covered wagon, leading some horses behincl 
the wagon appearing to be travelers as a matter of dis- 
guise. 

The outlaw dugout was on a ranch known as the Rock 
Ford Ranch. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon; a 
cold winter wind was blowing and the snow was falling. 
Mr. Tilghman saw some smoke coming out of a dugout 
which he believed to be occupied by the ranchman himself, 
they stopped in front of the door. Outside of the smoke there 
was no indication that the place was occupied by any one. 

Mr. Tilghman walked down the steps of the dugout and 
pushed open the door. He noticed a very large fireplace 
well supplied with blackjack logs and a roaring big fire. 
It was unusually large room wherein, on each side, beds 
were built one on top of the other with room enough to 
accomodate fifteen or twenty men. Only one man could be 
seen. He sat before the fireplace with a Winchester on 
his knees while Mr. Tilghman made some inquiry of him 
about another ranch, and at the same time make a mental 
picture of the room as he looked it over. "Well, said the 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 181 

Marshal," I must be going, as I was passing this way with 
my fighting dog I thought maybe I could get Bill to match 
a fight," speaking cordially, "he told me while back he 
though his dog could whip mine." The officer was very 
cold from riding in the wind, so walked to the fire place 
turned his back to it. The sight that caught his eyes caused 
every muscle in him to stiffen. From every bed the muzzle 
of a gun was shoved out with a dead aim on him. And Mr. 
Tilghman knew, too, that behind those deadly weapons were 
ready hands and gleaming eyes that held a bead on his body. 

There was no sound except the lonesome whisper of the 
wind against the lonely dugout. There was not one move 
or the quiver of an eyelash by the marshal that would in- 
dicate he knew that they were there or that he expected to 
be shot the next moment. He talked on to the supposed 
ranchman by the fireplace, without the slightest shaking of 
the voice. "Well I will be going" said Tilghman as he moved 
toward the door, "which way does a fellow get out of here." 
"The "ame damn way you got in," said the ranchman. 

The officer walked steadily toward the door, which he 
opened calmly, and hastened to the wagon and his Indian 
guide, "Drive ahead," he said but not too fast, the dugout 
is filled with bandits." It was learned later that there 
were eight of the mcst desperate bandits ever known in the 
Southwest in the dugout that night, all members of the 
Doolin gang : Bill Doolin, Red Buck, Dynamite Dick, Charley 
Pierce, Tulsa Jack and Little Bill and two others whose 
names were not known. Every man knew Tilghman, and re- 
cognized his voice as soon as he spoke, and for that reason 
there in the dark with only the firelight, every bandit had 
his gun trained on the officer until they were sure he was 
alone. However, one of the outlaws was determined to 
kill him, and just why he did not while the officer stood in 
front of the fire has never been known. It was Red Buck, 
and as the officer was leaving the dugout Red Buck the 
desperado was restrained by his comrades from killing 
Tilghman. He would have shot him in the back as he went 
out at the door but Dcolin and the supposed ranchman held 
him. "Bill Tilghman is too good a man to be shot in the 
back he shouted" to Red Buck as he struggled toward the 
door trying to make his way outside to kill Tilghman. "There 



182 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

will be no killing here tonight" shouted Doolin. If you kill 
Bill Tilghman, there will be a hundred men here before 
morning and there will not be a one of u,s left living," said 
he. Red Buck cared nothing about death and would have 
followed the officer after he drove away if he had not been 
restrained by force. "You are a lot of cowards", said Red 
Buck, "I will tell you what will happen to us before morn- 
ing," "a dozen officers will be here and we will be trapped 
like rats and now what are you going to do about it." So 
fearing an attack before morning, although tired and wor- 
ried from a long journey and very much in need of a night's 
rest, but knowing it was not safe for them to stay in the 
dugout, they went out into the night, into a blinding snow- 
storm, saddled their horses and rode away seeking shelter 
elswhere with Red Buck cussing and swearing that he would 
have much prefered sleeping with the officers corpse than 
to have taken that ride such a night. 

But at last Bill Doolin and every member of his gang like 
all other outlaws and bandits known in modern history met 
a tragic fate. The study of history as to the outlaw life in 
all ages, especially in the Southwest, is indeed convincing 
and proof to all young men living today that the life of an 
outlaw is and was then, one of hardships and terror. It 
bears not the slighest resemblance to a life of a hero. But 
to the contrary a life of lawlessness, crime and degradation 
and the poorest paid man in all the world ending at last in 
death or a prison cell. We have not mentioned the name of 
an outlaw in this book or an outlaw gang that the writer 
sometime in life has not shaken hands with, and have had 
hundreds of invitations to become a member of a gang. We 
said, "no", even under threats of death unless we did join 
them, and yet we said, "No". We never had one chance in 
early life to be a man but in our hearts we never craved to 
be an outlaw and a criminal like some men, but have always 
believed that a life spent in such sin some day somewhere 
would end. 

Red Buck went to his reward in death from a gunshot 
wound March 15, 1896. Bill Dalton was the first among 
the Doolin gang to go to his reward. We have fully described 
his death in another place in the book. 

It was in June 1894 when Bill Dalton went to Ardmore to 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 183 

buy groceries. This event led to his death. There was 
some officers in Ardmore the same day who by some chance 
had information concerning a consignment of liquor. How- 
ever, they did not know at the time just who the whiskey 
was consigned to, but the officers kept close watch and 
when two women appeared and called for the liquor they 
were arrested and were identified as Mrs. Dalton and her 
neighbor. They were recognized when they were arrainged 
in court, and it was then that the officers learned the where- 
abouts of Dalton himself. 

The officers at once started out after him and were soon 
upon his hiding place, but Dalton saw the officers and while 
they were surrounding the old ranch house, the bandit 
jumped from a window to the ground and as he did so the 
marshals fired a shot that killed the bandit instantly. The 
body of the dead outlaw was hauled to Ardmore in a wagon 
and delivered to his wife for burial. 

Tulsa Jack was also a member of the Dalton gang to 
meet death. He was killed May 5, 1895, following the rob- 
bing of a Rock Island train near Dover, Oklahoma. 

It was in July that Charley Pierce and Bitter Creek met 
death at the hand of two men armed with shotguns on the 
Rock Ford ranch. It is understood that two officers, Mr. 
Tilghman and Heck Thomas, had arranged with the two 
men to inform them when the outlaws came to the ranch. 
The officers rode some distance from the house during the 
night but no signals were given until toward dawn when 
they heard two shots at the ranch house. They hurried 
there and found the two bandits lying on the ground near 
the yard gate. 

The two outlaws had come and put up their horses and 
walked toward the house expecting to find food and a place 
to lie down and rest, but were met by the two ranchmen 
with shotguns and as the outlaws approached the gate the 
former fired, killing both bandits instantly, but after the 
outlaws lay dead on the ground the men fired another shot 
into their bodys. 



184 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

The Capture of Little Bill 

Little Bill was wounded in a duel with Mr. Tilghman, who 
captured the outlaw September 7, 1895. Armed with six- 
shooters and a shotgun Mr, Tilghman went on a hunt for 
this bandit. During the day Little Bill hid out in the hills 
and at night went to a small log house on the Sam Moore 
ranch twenty-five miles northeast of Pawhuska in the 
Osage Nation. The gang was dispersed waiting for a call 
for another robbery. Tilghman went to a cattle corral to 
await their coming. When Little Bill returned to Moore's 
for supper, he put his horse in the corral and started toward 
the ranchhouse when Mr. Tilghman stepped out and called 
to him, "Throw up your hands Bill." 

Little Bill jerked a ,six-shooter from his belt and fired at 
the officer. Tilghman discharged his weapon at the same 
time then followed with another shot in a second later. Lit- 
tle Bill was fatally hurt but continued to fire until his six- 
shooter was empty, then pitched forward on his face, his 
body pierced by half a dozen bullets. It was not thought 
he could possibly live, so he was carried into a stable to 
die. He was a game fighter with a gun and also a game 
fighter for life. 

He was taken by wagon to Elgin, Kansas, where he par- 
tially recovered. Still unable to walk, he was placed on a 
stretcher and taken to the jail at Guthrie. He was tried for 
train robbery at Kingfisher, convicted and sentenced to ten 
years in the federal prison at Columbus, Ohio. Little Bill 
was prosecuted by Thomas McMechan, afterwards a state 
senator in Oklahoma, and Charles, who later become attor- 
ney general of the state, was clerk of the court in wihch the 
bandit was tried. Little Bill, suffering from the wounds he 
had received, was granted a pardon before his sentence was 
served out. He returned to Oklahoma, married, and lived 
several years, but was always a cripple, and finaly died 
from the wounds received in the duel in the cattle corral. 

On March 15, 1896, the officers chased Red Buck to a 
dugout near Arapaho, and shot and killed him as he was try- 
ing to escape. 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 185 

DooLiN Trying to Reform 

Bill Doolin, the notorious leader of a band of outlaws, 
had a desire to quit such a life and become a peaceful citi- 
zen, it seemed. He made two efforts to get away from the 
scene of his crimes, taking his wife and baby with him. 
It was thought his love for his family probably awakened 
the desire in him to become a better man. But when he 
made the start to get away the officers were hot on his trail. 
Doolin married Edith Ellsworth, the daughter of a Lawson 
preacher, and took her to a place where he knew they would 
be safe from pursuers. Many times, when wooing this 
girl, he had risked his life to visit her, many times swim- 
ming his horses and braving dangers where other men would 
have turned back. After their marriage, their honeymoon 
was spent in a quiet place undisturbed. But the call to the 
bandit for the outlaw life was too strong for him to resist. 
He took his bride back to her father's home, then rejoined 
the gang and fled from the officers. At this time a large 
reward was offered for Doolin dead or alive. But he led 
the gang in the raids and guided them when they ran to 
cover. It was not until their baby was born that Doolin 
was led to abandon the wild life. He was scarcely ever 
able to visit them as the officers were on his trail every 
time he came out of hiding. Finally he took his wife and 
child, bade the members of the band goodby and went into 
a country where he was unknown, at least that is what he 
had in mind to do. 

Loading their household goods they set out for the west. 
The first camp was pitched at Burden, Kansas, and there 
they might have remained for months or even years but 
for one small circumstance. Mrs. Doolin was acquainted 
with Mrs. Pierce the woman who kept the hotel at Ingalls. 
She had left at the hotel a ring that had been given her by 
her husband when they were sweethearts. She wrote to 
Mrs. Pierce asking that it be sent to her. 

The Capture of Doolin 

The whereabouts of Doolin became known to Marshal 
Tilghman in December, 1895, through a letter written by 
the bandit's wife. Tilghman went to Burden and for ,six 



186 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

weeks watched for Doolin. The bandit's wife was kept un- 
der watch, but not once indicated by her actions that she 
knew the whereabouts of her husband. The officer finally 
learned that the bandit was at Eureka Springs taking baths 
for rheumatism. So arraying himself in the clothing of 
a city man, Tilghman went to this town and leaving his 
valise and gun at a hotel, went in search of the bandit. 

Walking into the parlor of the bath house he saw the 
bandit with a newspaper in his hands. Doolin saw the of- 
ficer come in, saw him walk the length of the room and 
pass through a door at the rear, but did not recognize him 
in the long coat and high hat. But the marshal knew he 
had found his man. So after ordering a bath prepared, 
Tilghman entered the room where the bandit was seated, 
whipped out his revolver and ordered the bandit to hold 
up his hands. Doolin jumped to his feet and reached for 
his gun. There followed a scene which made history in the 
Southwest. When Doolin reached for his gun Tilghman 
tried to seize his wrist but missed it and caught his coat 
sleeve. They struggled about the room, Doolin making ev- 
ery effort to use his gun and Tilghman holding to his sleeve 
with one hand while in the other hand he held his gun with 
which he could have shot the bandit in an instant had he 
chosen to do so. The occupants of the room fled at the 
sight of the officer's gun, believing that there would be a 
killing. Several times Tilghman pressed the gun against 
the breast of the outlaw, and could have easily shot him, 
but remembered the scene at the Rock Ford dugout. Where 
Doolin saved his life by preventing Red Buck from shoot- 
ing him in the back. 

"Don't make me kill you Bill," Tilghman said, a*^ he 
struggled with him. Doolin, reading determination in the 
officers face, dropped his arm, then the marshal called the 
proprietor of the hotel and asked him to remove the wea- 
pon from the outlaw. The officer went with Doolin to a 
bank to withdraw some money deposited by the latter un- 
der an assumed name. Then they went to the outlaw's 
room at the hotel to pack his effects. While packing, the 
officer picked up a little mug, and stood looking at it. "I 
bought it for my baby boy," Doolin said. "Are you think- 
ing of your boy now?" The officer asked. "Yes," said 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 187 

Doolin. Tears came to the eyes of the officer, "Your 
heart's in the right place, Bill," he said to the outlaw, "I 
will see that the baby gets the mug." 

Tilghman took his prisoner to Guthrie, without hand- 
cuffs, Doolin promising not to try to escape and the officer 
telling him he would be killed if he did. Guthrie was filled 
to overflowing when they reached there. Doolin's reputa- 
tion as an outlaw was known far and near. The officer 
was given great credit because he did not want to kill the 
bandit who had once saved his life. After being placed in 
jail, Doolin's rheumatism became worse and he was given 
the liberty of the corridors. So he soon planned his es- 
cape, which he carried into execution successfully, also giv- 
ing all the prisoners in the jail their liberty who cared to 
escape. 

On the evening of July 5, 1896, two guards appeared at 
the gate of the jail to lock the prisoners in their cells. As 
was their custom, one man remained at the corridor door 
while the other man would leave his weapons outside and go 
in to lock the cell doors. This was done so that there would 
be no possibility of a prisoner taking a guard's weapon 
from him. 

On this occasion Doolin had the help of a negro prisoner 
who approached the outer dcor and reached through the 
door for a drink. Doolin who was near sprang with all his 
might against the door. The door, not being locked, swung 
open, knocking the guard to the floor. Doolin sprang 
through the door upon him and took his weapons from him. 
The guard was bound and gagged, then going into the jail 
he captured the unarmed guard, locked both in a cell and 
liberated all the prisoners. The prisoners were led to the 
foot of the outside stair and told they could go in any di- 
rection they cared to. The escaped bandit walked down the 
railroad track, then out on a country road, where he met 
a young man and girl returning to the city in a buggy drawn 
by a good horse. This was near midnight. Doolin stopped 
them, told them to walk home and taking their horse and 
buggy rode away. After several miles he unhitched the 
horse and mounted and rode away. He reached Arkansas 
and found friends who sheltered him. 



188 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

DooLiN's Death 

Doolin knew that Oklahoma was unsafe for him, for the 
officers were ever on the watch for him. But love for his 
wife and baby again caused him to brave the dangers to 
see them. He went to the home of her father near Law- 
son, and again the wagon was loaded and made ready for 
a journey that was to end in safety for the bandit, so he 
thought. They loaded the wagon at night. Doolin's inten- 
tion was to drive away before morning. At last the wagon 
was loaded; it was moonlight and about eleven o'clock; 
Doolin was to go down the road some distance and there 
meet his wife and baby in a covered wagon a little later. 
The outlaw was leading his horse and carrying a Winches- 
ter across his arm. He had not traveled more than five 
hundred yards when a man stepped out and called on him 
to surrender. The man was Marshal Thomas. Doolin /'poke 
not a word, but fired at the officer, Thomas firing about the 
same time. They were only about fifty feet apart; Doolin 
missed. Thomas used a shotgun and the bandit fell with 
twenty-one buckshot in his body. His wife hearing the 
shots and knowing too well what it meant, snatched her 
baby and ran toward the other members of the poisse that 
had gathered around the body. They tried to shield the 
body from her sight, but she pushed them aside, and kneel- 
ing beside the body wailed cut the agony of a broken heart. 
Bill Doolin was an outlaw, but he was enshrined in the 
heart of the woman he loved. 

The Jennings Gang 

In August, 1897, a gang was organized known as the 
Jennings gang by Dick West, alias Little Dick, who the 
reader will remember was a dangerous member of the 
Doolin band. This gang was organized at Tecumseh, and 
consisted of Little Dick, Morris and Pat Omalley, brothers, 
and Al and Frank Jennings. The Jennings were living at 
this time at Tecumseh, in Pottawatomie county. While their 
reputation was bad among the officers, there were no war- 
rants out for them. They were free to come and go as they 
pleased. 

On August 18, 1897, the gang was accused of an attempt 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 189 

to rob a Santa Fe train at Edmond. Hiding at the water 
tank, they boarded the blind baggage when the train started 
and drawing their guns on the engineer, they compelled him 
to run the train down the tracks a mile where a man was 
waiting with their horses. They battered on the door of the 
express car, but the messenger refused to open it. In the ex- 
citement they had forgotten to capture the conductor and 
he came toward them with a lantern in his hand. "What 
are you doing here?" he called. The robbers, whoever 
they were, gave proof that they were only amateurs, for 
they hurriedly mounted their horses and rode away. Two 
weeks later they attempted a train holdup at Bond Switch, 
twenty seven miles south of Muskogee by putting a pile 
of ties on the track of the M. K. & T. but the engineer ran 
the train through the obstruction at full speed. Not hav- 
ing any success in these holdups, they were thought by the 
officers to be the ones that attempted the holdup on the 
Santa Fe passenger train at Purcell. At this time all the 
express matter was transferred at Purcell, which made 
it a favorable chance for seizure. The night watchman 
discovered five men hiding behind a box car in the railroad 
yards. When he approached, they ran around the car and 
disappeared, but he saw their guns and heard the jingle 
of spurs. He reported this to the agent who promptly tele- 
phoned to the city marshal, who came down at once with 
a posse of twelve men. They made an investigation but 
the would-be robbers had disappeared as silently as they 
had come. 

The United States Marshal's office had received infor- 
mation that a holdup had been planned at Purcell, and Mar- 
shals Tilghman and Thomas were on the train with some 
other men. Another report was received that the Al Jen- 
nings gang would attempt to rob the bank at Minco, but 
a telegram was sent to the president of the bank warning 
him. A strong guard was immediately stationed around 
the bank. As we have stated above a member of the gang 
was sent to reconnoiter, and when he reported to the others 
the attempt was abandoned. By that time, the members of 
the gang were desperate, being penniless and having only 
occasional meals, such as they could get at the scattered 
ranch houses. It was a precarious way of living, but to at- 



190 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

tempt another train holdup seemed out of the question, for 
the marshals were very active. The Rock Island had been 
running ,special guards on its night trains for several v^eeks 
and no effort was made to rob them. There could be much 
more said concerning Al Jennings and his gang as to their 
operations but we will not take space to say any more about 
these bandits and outlaws, but we truly trust and feel that 
all those, especially young men, who read this book will 
readily see that a life spent in the outlaw and bandit opera- 
tions is certainly a life of failure, shame and disgrace, and 
all those who have in the past engaged in such a life or those 
who may aspire to achieve to be one of those gunmen or 
outlaws of the early days will go as all others — they will 
die in the electric chair or in a prison cell. You must re- 
member that the outlaw life has always been of less profit 
financially speaking or otherwise than any life spoken of 
upon the sacred pages of the world's history. 

A Short Story of Henry Starr's Career as a Bandit 
and Outlaw 

He was born at Fort Gibson December 2, 1873; killed 
Floyd Gibson railroad detective at Lenape in 1893; saved 
many lives in the jail at Fort Smith by disarming Chero- 
kee Bill after he had shot and killed the jailor. Henry Starr 
took the gun off of him, and threw it out of the cell into 
the runround. For this deed Henry Starr was later par- 
doned by President Roosevelt. He was convicted and sen- 
tenced to .serve twenty four years in the federal penitentiary 
at Columbus, Ohio, after his arrest in Colorado on a hold- 
up charge, was pardoned by Roosevelt; returned to Tulsa; 
married and entered the real estate business. He was ar- 
rested in Colorado Springs on a bank robbery charge in 
1909, convicted and sentenced to Colorado penitentiary; 
pardoned in 1913 by the governor of Colorado ; captured in 
a battle after a bank robbery at Stroud, Oklahoma, March 
27, 1915; he was severely wounded but recovered; he was 
tried, convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years in the 
state penitentiary; pardoned by Governor Robertson, 
March 15, 1919; last heard of by pardon and parole board 



■Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 191 

in Kansas City November 1, 1920; shot in a bank robbery 
in Harrison, Arkansas, February 18, 1921. 

In all, Starr has served seventeen years and eight months 
in prison according to his own figures. Three times be- 
fore he was shot to death February 18, 1921, he faced what 
appeared to be certain death. He was twice sentenced to 
be hanged and his life saved by commutation to prison sen- 
tences. 

Henry Starr's father wa," George Starr known as Hop 
Starr, and was a half breed Cherokee Indian, and his 
mother a quarter breed Cherokee. Henry Starr grew up 
in the Cherokee Nation, and at about the age of seventeen 
he began working on a ranch, and after some years became 
an outlaw. He often made tlie statement that officers and 
the courts drove him to a desperate life. 

Starr's first notable crime was when he killed Floyd Wil- 
son in 1893. Starr has always said that he would die with 
his boot^ on ; in fact it was the way he wanted to die. And 
heaven knows he took plenty of chances to make it come 
true, and it came true March 18, 1921, when he was shot 
to death in a bank at Harrison, Arkansas. But we must 
say just here that Starr, indeed, was a bad man. He was 
believed to be the greatest outlaw in the Southwest. None 
ever excelled him in robbing banks to the personal know- 
ledge of men who have known him thirty years. He has 
robbed more banks than any one man who ever lived. There 
are men living today in Oklahoma who have known Henry 
Starr since he was sixteen years of age. He was a bandit 
then at heart. Henry Starr was a different breed of out- 
law from the present day city crooks, neither was he the 
outlaw that he was ten or fifteen years ago, or they never 
would have got him as they did. His record as a bank rob- 
ber will show that he never was caught before in the act of 
robbing a bank. He did many things that no other bank 
robber or bandit ever did in the history of that heinous 
work. He always succeeded in double bank robbery in one 
town at the same time. He succeeded at Stroud, Oklahoma, 
in a double bank robbery ; he was shot and wounded but it 
was after it was all over. 

There is no doubt but what Henry Starr was a natural 
born bank robber as some people are singers or musicians. 



192 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

There is one thing that can be said of Henry Starr that 
may be one good feature to his credit and that is he never 
killed a man during his long life as an outlaw while rob- 
bing a bank. This is no doubt one reason why he will go 
down in history as the greatest bank robber who ever 
lived. There is a saying true in life "Be sure your sins 
will find you out. Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he 
also reap." 

Bell Starr 

Bell Starr was a woman who no doubt was one of the 
most fearless, daring outlaws in all the country of her day. 
Bell Starr was the daughter of Judge Shirley who was a 
life long citizen of Missouri. She was no relation to Henry 
Starr, the noted bank robber killed March 18, 1921, in an at- 
tempt to rob a bank at Harrison, Arkansas. However, she 
was connected with the family of Henry Starr but not in a 
way that made her in the least related to him. Her opera- 
tions as a bandit and outlaw were largely confined to the 
Southeastern part of the territory along the line of Texas 
and Arkansas. Among the most noted desperate charac- 
ters, such as the Daltons, Doolins and many others there 
never lived a braver, more courageous, or fearless char- 
acter than Bell Starr. The writer has been several times in 
a little log hut built by her in 1887, near the top of a little 
mountain known as the Bell Starr mountain in the south- 
eastern part of the Choctaw Nation. 

It was on this mountain and in this little hut she took 
refuge and killed and wounded a number of officers that at- 
tempted to arrest her. 

Several times during her desperate career, she was at- 
tacked while in this little log hut by officers and invariably 
made her escape. It has been said that but few women ever 
lived but what weakened when facing death, but not so with 
Bell Starr. Her record as an outlaw shows when others with 
her had fled to make their escape when the moment had 
come that seemed to portend death, she never retreated un- 
til she, with her Winchester or six-shooter opened the way 
for her certain escape. 

A number of years ago we were sitting on the bank of a 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 193 

small stream in the ea'?tern part of the Choctaw Nation. 
We were talking with an aged Indian, he asked us if we 
would like to see the spot of ground upon which Bell Starr 
died. I told him I would. 

Now about the distance of a half a mile there was a small 
field of about fifteen acres which was one time owned by 
Bell Starr. It was fenced with rails. He took me within 
about twenty feet of the fence. We stood on the spot of 
ground her own cornfield on which she was shot to death 
with a shot gun from ambush. 

It has been said that her own son took her life, but we 
cannot say as to the truthfullness of this statement, but 
she paid the penalty as have all those who have violated 
the law. 

Hodge Desperadoes 

Now there was also another band of desperadoes known 
as the Hodge gang. They numbered from five to six and 
operated largely along the line of Kansas, through the 
Osage and Cherokee Nations, and into Arkansas. 

These men were considered by all officers that knew 
them or knew of them, as being dare devils and gunsmen 
that seldom missed their mark. During their career they 
robbed a number of trains and banks through Kansas and 
Arkansas. However their lives and operations were ishort. 
Some Kansans ended their career in the streets of a little 
town in the Cherokee Nation in the year of 1889. In this 
skirmish one officer was killed and two wounded, four ban- 
dits killed, and two captured. 

Now, if it be possible let us bring to our reader some very 
interesting and important events and facts, as we have writ- 
ten at some length in other chapters of this book, on the 
life and customs of the wild and modern Indian. We now 
want to call your attention again to the conditions that ex- 
isted in the early days of the Southwest and the growth and 
developments of the country. 

First the condition of the country, caused by the life and 
operations of bandits and outlaws, was indeed terrorizing 
to the early settlers. Men of every description and char- 
acter and nationality, men who had committed many des- 



194 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

perate, inhuman and heartless crimes, fugitives from every 
state in the union v^^ho had escaped their just and due re- 
ward, that they should have suffered by law, fled to the 
Southwest, a country uninhabited and desolate for shelter 
and safety. The Indian Territory and Oklahoma were 
thought of and looked upon by all people of every state in 
the Union as the land and home of the heathen Indian, out- 
law and bandit, which was to a great degree true. In the 
early days Oklahoma no doubt was a country of refuge for 
criminals and fugitives from justice from every state in the 
Union, and let us remember, too, that the condition of the 
country made it almost impossible for an officer to appre- 
hend an outlaw after he once entered the territory, for it 
was a country in which anyone might travel for days and 
never see a house or a human being. There were no roads 
through the country; those who traveled by horseback or 
otherwise traveled trails or by directions. For citizens or 
officers to travel these trails was indeed dangerous, as they 
were created or cut out by outlaws and bandits. The trails 
through the country generally led out of Texas into Kan- 
sas or Arkansas leading to the West. 

Many places near these trails could be found outlaws' 
headquarters especially in the mountain regions of the 
country. We might take space just here to give the names 
of some of these trails and their location. We have in 
mind the trail very famous to all the Southwest, known as 
the trail of the Dead Man's crossing, on Red river leading 
from Texas through the western part of Oklahoma, Colo- 
rado and into the Rocky Mountains. The next famous trail 
crossing Red river out of Texas leading through the east- 
ern portion of the Indian territory was known as the Beas- 
fey trail ; it was this trail that the desperadoes and outlaws, 
known as the Miller gang and Hodge boys, traveled in their 
operations from Texas into Kansas. The famous cave in 
the Pushmaline mountains was used as headquarters for 
years. 

The condition of the country was such that it made it al- 
most impossible for an officer to find an outlaw, unless by 
chance he happened upon him in camping or otherwise, and 
when he did, such conditions gave the outlaw all advantages 
of the officer. In this way a number of federal officers, 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 195 

men of high reputation who respected law and believed in 
good government, gave their life trying to rid the country 
of bad and desperate men. Many times officers entering 
the territory in pursuit of such men by the way of these 
trails, had no possible chance to get information concerning 
the whereabouts or location of such men, because, as I have 
stated above, one might travel for days without seeing a 
human being except a savage heathen Indian, and there 
was no way to gain any information from an Indian; he 
would not reveal anything he knew to a white man. For 
this reason, many officers after entering the territory wilds 
were never heard of again. 

However, the early settlers of the Southwest, especially 
those who settled in the central part of the country, were 
not molested or terrorized by the outlaws as much as those 
who lived near the line of the ,^tates, as the bandits and out- 
laws would stay as near the states as possible. In this way, 
it was not so difficult to secure food and other comforts of 
life, as they would do their robbing and stealing in the 
states, and escape to their hiding places in the territory. 
But after the opening of the country it was settled more 
or less in colonies, often a number of families settling on 
claims as near together as possible forming a small com- 
munity, the early settlers protected their propertie,'', such 
as live stock, by cooperating against the invading enemy: 
the outlaw and the horse and cattle thieves. 

However, as the country settled, the outlaw began to 
move and establish headquarters in and near these com- 
munities, which made it very dangerous and difficult for 
the early settlers to travel at all, especially in marketing 
their products or securing food out of the states. So such 
conditions did exist until the settlers resolved that they 
would no longer tolerate the presence and operations of 
these outlaws ; so every few days saw a desperate struggle, 
a fight to a finish and a swap-out between the two classes, 
for these early settlers resolved in their hearts, after they 
had suffered so many things and privations in order to live 
and improve their claim,", that the outlaw would not steal 
and destroy that for which they had labored and suffered 
so many things. The early settlers of the country suffered 



196 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

untold hardships such as the people of our day cannot des- 
scribe or appreciate. 

To give proper credit for what Oklahoma is today, let us 
remember that while our brave and valiant officers of the 
law did much to rid the country of the outlaw and bandit 
organizations, the early settlers did as much or more toward 
this noble work as the officers. There has been no little dis- 
cussion as to the right or wrong on the part of the govern- 
ment in opening the country fcr settlement. We must say, 
•and we trust that it may once and for all time settle this 
question in the minds of thoise who read this statement as 
to this question, that we believe it was indeed a great work 
and a defense on the part of the government toward every 
state that surrounded or joined the Indian Territory or Ok- 
lahoma, when the government, by an act of Congress, de- 
clared the country open for settlement over the protest of 
the Indians, and also in violation of the treaty providing 
they should own and control the land as long as grass grew 
and water run, made with the Indians by the government 
when they emmigrated from the various states to the South- 
west. But we may ask the question : why did the govern- 
ment break this treaty with the Indian? First because the 
Indian was not intelligently capable in his wild and savage 
condition of life of taking care of himself ; the Indian could 
have never risen above his untutored, cruel and brutish na- 
ture without help from the outside world. Because he lived 
in an environment, and had for centuries, that contributed 
to his brutish nature, help could only be given him by sur- 
rounding him with an external condition or influence emi- 
nating from his civilized neighbors, the white race, and 
this could only be accomplished through the government by 
throwing the two races together, that the Indian would 
have to absorb into his very nature high ideals of life and 
civilization, and this was done when the Indian Territory 
and Oklahoma was opened for settlement. The United 
States government never bestowed a greater blessing upon 
a race of people or did a greater deed, than when it opened 
the Southwest for settlement. For the Indian race of peo- 
ple would have never been the beloved race they are today, 
neither would the two races have ever understood each other 
and become united in fraternal love and friendship if they 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 197 

.had been kept ,separated from each other. Oklahoma and 
the Indian territory would have been a dumping ground and 
a refuge to the civilized states around it for all time and the 
one great state today with its millions of people and great 
wealth would have never been. 

Let us remember that it was the opening of the country 
for settlement that gave the strong arm of the law a chance 
to reach out after the outlaw and bandit and bring them to 
justice, and make him only a faint memory in the minds 
of those who live today. Once upon a time I thought and 
looked upon the act of the government in opening the coun- 
try as a cruel deed, for it seemed that the Indian "Poor 
Low" had been run and hounded by the white race until 
he had at last laid his head upon the rock for a pillow, and 
the earth of Oklahom.a his bed, his last resting place; but 
as we have stated before, the Indian was not a builder of 
cities, or a pathfinder to civilization ; he did not have in his 
nature a constructive element, but was indeed a savage, 
heathen, and could have never been civilized without mis- 
sionaries and school teachers, the elements that make life 
worth while and that in all ages of the past have been found 
and furni'^hed to the heathen nations of the world by the 
white Caucasion race. 

Dear reader let us think a moment. It has only been a 
few short years since it was almost impossible in Oklahoma 
to operate even a small mercantile business of any kind, on 
account of the operations of the outlaw and bandit. The 
owner of the little business and all employees could be found 
with weapons where they could be had at a moments no- 
tice. The country was full of such men as the Daltons, and 
the Doolins, Hodges, the Miller gang, the Christian boys 
and the Al Jennings gang, and Cherokee Bill, who died the 
death and paid the penalty of a real demon in the jail at 
Fort Smith, Arkansas. 

There came another very dangerous period in the early 
days, and that was when the country began to settle rapid- 
ly. The outlaws began to scatter throughout the country, 
and when it became possible for officers to obtain informa- 
tion from the settlers as to the location and whereabouts 
of the outlaw, the country was soon filled with officers in 



198 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

search of these bad men, not altogether because they wanted- 
to do away with the outlaw, but for the sake of the reward 
offered for them, and this, too, added a still greater danger 
as to the settlers, outlaws and officers. 

For this reason, neither the settler nor the outlaws and 
officers would run any chance whatsoever. If a man was 
sighted at a distance more than likely, if he was an officer, 
he was fired upon without warning by the outlaw ; and this 
was true with the officers towards the outlaw. And the 
same dangers had to be undergone and experienced by the 
early settlers. It is a matter of history that many of those 
killed in the early days by officers, outlaws and citizens, 
were innocent parties. Those who committed such crimes 
would often take their victims and bury them or throw 
them into some stream of water, or otherwise destroy them 
so that no trace could ever be had by anyone. 

Let us also remember that the early days were indeed 
very critical between the citizens and outlaws, for, as we 
have stated above, there was no friendship between them, 
they would not trust each other; the outlaw would take the 
life of a citizen almost as quickly as he would some federal 
officer, for they believed that there did exist a cooperative 
plan between the officers and citizens to capture or destroy 
the outlaw organization, and to a great extent this was 
true. 

Now the foregoing information that we have given as to 
the condition of the country will give to our readers a clear 
understanding of just why it was so hard and difficult for 
the early settlers to stay with their homesteads and develop 
the country. As they had to seek a market for their farm 
products in the adjoining states many miles away, often 
business trips had to be made afoot or on horseback, es- 
pecially messages and information conveyed from one colony 
or a community to another, which would often mean death 
to the messenger, for the messengers or those who trav- 
eled from one community to another did it by the way of a 
trail cut out or created by bandits and outlaws. 

So We can readily see and understand why the Texas 
Rangers and soldiers stationed at all military posts, at cros- 
sings on Red river out of Texas entering the territory, 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 199 

plead so earnestly with those entering the territory wilds 
in those days to abandon their expedition and stay out 
of such a country, for true information and statistics 
showed that there were but few who entered the territory 
in those days that were ever heard of again. There were 
many who listened and heeded the advice of the rangers 
and soldiers; others proceeded on their journey and were 
never heard cf, but were lost and destroyed, just how will 
never be known. 

There was another method inaugurated by the early set- 
lers or communities in sending messages in order to defeat 
1 he bandit or outlaws. They used the Indian or the Negro, 
for in iSO doing it removed all suspicion from the mind of 
the outlaw. This method was very succe-ssful for a time, for 
both the officers or bandits paid little attention, if any to 
them, until an Indian in some way was suspicioned by the 
outlaws and was captured, searched and a message found 
on him to officers revealing the information as the location 
and headquarters of the outlaws, which was indeed a death 
blow to the early settlers as to sending messages by Indians 
or native Negroes for such a thing will happen but once to 
the Indian. 

Now, I have in mind an incident that happened under 
my observation, and at the door step of my little log hut, and 
that was, a couple of outlaws whose names were never 
known were camped a short distance from our little home. 
One morning very early as they stood in the yard one of 
them for some reason had gone behind the house while the 
other one stood watching a man riding on horseback, the 
animal was beautiful and very large. He came up with a 
few rods of the building and as he stopped, the outlaw ap- 
peared upon the scene from behind the house and spoke 
.something to the man on horseback. I have never known 
just what he said but have believed he called him by some, 
which might have been his real name. The man on horse- 
back drew his gun, killing the man instantly, he fell dying 
at the door step ; the man turned and rode away, disappear- 
ing to the east in the thickness of the timber. 

So the next question or problem that confronted us and 
his comrade was burying him, and I want to say, too, that 



200 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

this funeral or burial was one of the most peculiar ones 
ever attended by the writer. 

Now there was a short distance away a hillside and some 
ravines or gulches, caused by water flowing down the hill- 
side. We took the man just as he fell and threw him into 
one of these ravines, which must have been four or five 
feet in depth and covered him with rocks and dirt. This 
lonely grave iiS located near the place known now as Stewart, 
Oklahoma. 

Now I must take space and write at some length the life 
and operations of some of the outlaws and bandits that I 
was most familiar with and knew likely as no other man 
living today. I want to call our reader's attention to the 
outlaws known as the Christian brothers, who no doubt be- 
came some of the most daring and famous outlaws in the 
world's history; and also the outlaws known as the Miller 
gang, who operated largely in the Eastern portion of the 
Indian territory, traveling a trail out of Texas through the 
Osage, Choctaw, Creek and Cherokee Nations into Kansas. 
This trail was known to the early settlers as the Beasley 
trail. It lead through some of the most desolate and moun- 
tainous parts of the Indian territory. The mountains over 
which this. trail led were the Jack Fork and Pushmaline 
mountains. The Pushmaline mountains were located near- 
ly half way between Texas and Kansas. The hiding place 
and headquarters of these outlaws for a number of years 
was in a very large cave in the Pushmaline mountains. 
There was but few standing timber, if any, on these moun- 
tains, especially near this famous cave. This chain of 
mountains extended for a number of miles north and south ; 
a short distance to the east was the beginning of a valley 
of many miles, covered in a dense forest. Under the foot- 
hills a number of caves can be found which once no doubt 
was the daylight home of many wild beasts and animals. 

One of the caves was very large; this one was used as 
we have stated above by the outlaws as headquarters. In 
the cave a number of horses were kept concealed. There is 
but little doubt that the Miller outlaw gang and those who 
operated with them were the largest horse and cattle-thief 
organizations of the Southwest. The organization was so 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 201 

perfectly perfected it was almost impossible for officers to 
apprehend or capture them, or to regain stolen property 
after it had once entered the territory upon this trail, for 
outlaw headquarters could be found many places along this 
trail in the Choctaw, and Cherokee Nations. The work and 
operation of these organizations was run as follows : some 
stationed in Texas would rush stolen property into the ter- 
ritory, others would rush it to headquarters in the moun- 
tains and there it was kept for a time until the search for 
it had died out, it -was then taken into Kansas or Colorado 
and sold. Such organizations were known bv federal of- 
ficers and the early settlers to hold a reunion once or twice 
a year, taking inventory of their year's work and dividing 
the spoils with each other. 

This work continued for a number of years even after 
the country had opened for settlement. Many federal of- 
ficers who loved their country and good government sacri- 
ficed their lives somewhere along this trail, just where and 
how, it will never be known, but doubtless at the hand of 
these brutish and heartless outlaws. 

This trail was indeed dangerous for anyone to travel. 
We are not certain, but likely it is true, that the hardest 
fought battle between officers and bandits was at this fa- 
mous cave, the outlaws' headquarters. A number of offi- 
cers surrounded the cave in which were eight or ten out- 
laws with good guns and well supplied with ammunition. 
The officers surrounded the cave, then sent a message to the 
bandits to surrender; the answer to the message was for 
them to go to a hotter climate, and for one week the offi- 
cers closely guarded and waited for the appearance of the 
bad men. The determination manifested to the outlaw by 
the officers caused the outlaws at last to come out and face 
death and take a chance for their lives. Now, there were 
two entrances to the cave : its mouth fronted the east run- 
ning directly under a small hill, coming out upon the west 
side. The officer had no knowledge it seemed of the two 
entrances to the cave, and when the outlaws emerged and 
the officers realized it was a fight to death, they grouped 
themselves as near together as possible along the hillslope 
where they had some protection, behind rock and the "lope 



202 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

of the hill. The outlaws took their position on the north 
slope of the hill ; they had the protection of a few rocks set 
on edge and a few small pines ; otherwise it was a fight in 
the open with both officers and bandits, and they fought to 
a finish. The actual time of the fight it was said by tho«e 
who escaped death was several hours. A number of the 
bandits were killed, several were wounded, — Miller him- 
self the leader of the gang escaped slightly wounded — and 
several of the officers were killed and some wounded. 

Miller, a few years later, was killed by a U. S. officer^ 
one Mr. Davis, '^ent by the government from Texas to these 
parts of the territory for the purpose of capturing and kil- 
ling these outlaws and bandits, and we want to pay a high 
tribute to this officer by saying he did his work well, for 
he killed and captured a number of the very worst men of 
the Indian territory. Miller was killed a short distance 
west of Wilburton, Oklahoma, in the year 1903. 

A few years ago the writer had the pleasure of visiting 
this famous cave and battle-ground. We explored every 
foot of the cave and the hillside on which this never-to-be- 
forgotten battle was fought, and there can be seen many 
signs and bullet marks on the rocks and pine trees. Upon 
exploring the cave, we found that there yet remained signs 
of the campfire, and the most marvellous thing witnessed 
by us was the fact that for '^everal rods they had built a 
rock wall along the wall of the cave, to the mouth of the 
rear entrance forming a complete flue, for the smoke from 
the fire to escape. There were a number of shelves formed 
in the cave on which doubtless meat had been stored away, 
for there yet remained signs of salt and grease. A number 
of bones of wild hogs, deer and other animals were scat- 
tered about in the cave. We also found a «ock that con- 
tained quite a quantity of salt. We found a pair of spurs 
of fine quality, very rusty, from which leather had rotted 
away. 

I wish to call our readers' attention to the wonderful con- 
trast of the condition of that portion of the country in those 
days and the condition of it today. As we have already 
mentioned, the beautiful valley that spread out to the east 
from these mountains was covered with great timber in 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 203 

which, in those days could be found many different kinds of 
wild beasts and animals and thousands of wild turkey. But, 
dear readers, what about these valleys today with their rich 
deep fertile soil? It is where many families are today 
making their home, living in mansions worth thousands of 
dollars ; hundreds of acres in cultivation with a great wealth 
of production each year are enjoyed by these families. 

Now I have already called your attention to the life and 
operation of the outlaws known as the Christians Brothers. 
Many who read this splatter of history will well remember 
them. In the days of their life and operation most every 
daily paper had something more or less to say about them. 
The native home of these boys was Texas. They came to 
the Indian territory in 1895 with their parents who were 
beloved and respected by all who knew them. It was said 
of Mr. and Mrs. Christian that two persons could scarce- 
ly be found who were more refined in their life and lived 
more godly and righteously than they. This family settled 
in Old Oklahoma near the line of the Indian territory a 
short distance from a saloon, the first saloon in all the 
Southwest, owned and operated by Bill Carr originally from 
Texas, also, known today as Sacred Heart, Oklahoma. The 
place was known to the early settlers as the Violet Springs 
saloon. It has been said that more men lost their lives 
around this place and at it than any place in all the country. 

Bob and Will Christian were brothers, Bob being the 
older of the two; they were from a family of people of great 
reputation insomuch that it would have been the least ex- 
pected that such desperate men would have sprang from 
such a family. Bob Christian was about the age of twenty 
when be began his desperate and outlaw life. He operated 
many months alone before his brother Will joined him. Will 
was still in his teens when he began his desperate, bandit op- 
erations. The writer never had a better friend than these 
boys ; we were together for many years and were comrades 
in the wild days of the Southwest. We would have given 
our lives in friendship for each other; we thought of each 
other as brothers in the flesh. The bandit and outlaw life 
^f Bob and Will Christian will go down in history never to 
be fully understood by those who knew them best. Their 



204 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

lives greatly affected their parents and hurried them to 
their grave, for they did not live long after the boys began 
their desperate life. They died and passed on to their re- 
ward and their bodies ,sleep somewhere today on the lone 
prairies near the places named above, while their boys 
passed out of the knowledge of any one ; passed away as the 
dream of the midnight hour. After several years of bandit 
and outlaw life, no one has ever heard of them, and it can- 
not be truthfully said by one who knew them, whether or 
not they are dead or alive. 

They began their outlaw life in the year 1900. Bob 
Christian first began his career by peddling or bootlegging 
whiskey from this saloon among the Indians in the Sem- 
inole and Creek Nations. This was his first offense, at 
that time each Indian in these nations was paid by the gov- 
ernment a sum of money, about sixteen or seventeen dol- 
lars a head monthly. So the Indians generally had some lit- 
tle money and they purchased their whiskey from Bob 
Chri'^tian. Much of every week was spent by him among 
the Indians and we boys were then employed by the chief 
of the Seminole tribe in a very large merchantile establish- 
ment owned and controlled by the chief, who was known 
throughout the country by his own race and the white race 
as Governor Brown. 

So it was only a short time until a warrant was issued 
by the courts of Oklahoma county at Oklahoma City for 
the arrest of Bob Christian, charged with peddling or boot- 
legging whiskey in the Indian Territory. Conviction 
meant a penalty, of from one to five years in the penitentia- 
ry. The warrants were sent to every officer throughout 
the country, making it practically impossible for Bob to stay 
or live anywhere except with the wild animals and beasts 
of the forest among the brush of Little river. However, 
for the first few months, he engaged in several fights and 
running skirmishes with officers but he invariably made 
his escape to his hiding places named above. 

Will, his brother, up to this time, had not violated the 
law in any way, but as we associated with him and talked 
to him, it was to be seen that he was day by day being 
drawn into this terrible life, the end of which has proven 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 205 

to be the gallows or a prison cell for life. It was because 
of his love for his brother that he each day came nearer 
and nearer until at last he broke over by taking the life of 
a U. S. Marshal in the defense and protection of his brother. 

Now before Will had fully decided to join his brother in 
the outlaw life, I could see that he grew desperate each day 
and I felt that something had to be done, and done quickly. 
So one afternoon I mounted my pony and rode to the home of 
his good parents in search of Will, seeking a conversation 
with him, and when I found him I proposed to him that we 
go in search for Bob, as I wanted to talk with them both to- 
gether. We decided to ask Bob to give up, stand his trial 
and take the punishment inflicted upon him. So we 
mounted our horses, made off to the northeast and were 
soon in the neighborhood of his hiding place. There were 
several Indians and negroes living in this section of the 
country who, we learned later, were friends to Bob and did 
all possible for his comforts, and to protect and shield him. 

His brother and I did not search his exact hiding place, 
but near the place there were located a number of Indian 
and negro huts. We learned later that the Indians and 
negroes did all they could to shield and comfort him by, fur- 
nishing him every possible necessity of life. In extreme cold, 
stormy weather he would often shelter with the Indians 
in their huts. Now as we were entering the timbers of a 
river bottom, we were following the trail that would have 
led us to a crossing known to the early settlers as the 
Bruner crossing which took its name from some slave 
negroes who were desperate characters and who committed 
a number of heinous crimes. Many of these Negroes died 
with their boots on, as did all others who defied the law and 
lived the outlaw life. We had gone only a short distance in- 
to the timber when we noticed, tied near the path, a beauti- 
ful horse saddled. We stopped and paused for a minute. 
Will, my comrade, spoke to me assuring me that the horse 
belonged to his brother; so we proceeded and drew along- 
side the horse, and just at this time Bob Christian emerged 
from behind a large tree a few rods away with a Winchester 
in his hand. Of course he had no doubt seen us and had 
alighted from his horse, took the tree for a shield and was 
ready for a fight to the finish, for the man never lived who 



206 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

was gamer and possessed more of the daredevil spirit than 
did he. 

Coming out in the open, he recognized us at once and was 
greatly surprised and filled with joy and gladness. We sat 
down on a log nearby and began to talk matters over, and 
I said to him, "Bob, old comrade, you know we have been 
together for a long time, and you have known me as a friend 
and not a traitor, and I have brought your brother with me 
that we all might council together as to the best thing for 
us boys for future life. I think your decision as too your 
own life will not only shape the destiny of your life but 
your brother's also, and I trust that you will appreciate 
my coming to you for this heart to heart talk concerning 
this all — important question. I said, "Bob, I know you are 
a good old scout, and a man as game as God ever made, but 
you will die as do all others of the outlaw life, with your 
boots on or in a prison cell. I therefore entreat you to 
give up this awful life." Just here his Brother, Will, inter- 
rupter by saying, if he was going to continue in such life 
he would not leave him to fight the fight alone, but would 
immediately join him. I said "Boys, that will never do, for 
you know that every man, it mattered not how game he 
was, or how good his marksmanship, the strong arm of the 
law sooner or later reached out and got him, either by death 
or prison cell." I advised him to go to Oklahoma City and 
give himself up and suffer the penalty that might be in- 
flicted upon him, but he interrupted by asking me if I was 
a traitor, and his countenance and action in that moment 
led me to believe that he had just as soon shoot me as not, 
but I said, "Bob, you do not believe that, you have known 
me too long; I am not a traitor to you, but have always 
despised a traitor or a liar; I am not only trying to be- 
friend you but your brother and father and mother." He 
was indeed a desperate man and you could see in the coun- 
tenance of his brother the same marks of the outlaw. And 
for this reason I was deeply interested in them both and felt 
that I could see the end of such a life — death or the prison 
cell. 

He finally agreed to write a letter to the judge of the 
courts and beg clemeny of the court telling the judge that if 
he would clear all records of charges against him, he would 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 207 

return home to his father and mother and would not in any 
way commit another crime against law, but would as far 
possible obey the law and make a good citizen. 

He received an answer in a few days with the following 
information ; when he was arrested or surrendered himself 
to the courts a jury of twelve men, would hear his case and 
pass upon his guilt or innocence ; the judge would then 
talk to him about clearing the court records of the charges 
against him, and a chance would be given him to make a 
good citizen but if convicted, he would have to serve or suf- 
fer the penalty inflected upon him. 

Upon receipt of the letter from the judge he informed, 
the latter that he would never surrender or give up to the 
courts, but would die with his boots on. So it was only a 
few days later when Will, his brother, disappeared from 
home, and no one knew his whereabouts. For several weeks 
he was exiled from everyone, no knowledge or trace could 
be had of him. 

Much anxiety was manifested by friends and relatives as 
to his whereabouts ; many inquires were made by citizens 
and officers. 

It was only a ''hort time until some fine horses were stolen 
in the community and the Christian brothers were accused 
by the owners, of this theft. There was quite a sensation 
throughout the country and many people took their stand 
for and against the boys in this matter, but it was finally 
proven and known by the people that it was true that the 
boys had stolen the hor-^es. Much had been said by the 
owner of the horses about this incident but it was all im- 
aginary on his part as he knew nothing for certain and in 
the course of time the boys returned to the country and, 
by chance, met the owner of the horses, and questioned him 
concerning the accusation. He told them he had accused 
them of the deed and they confessed their guilt but had tak- 
en the horses in self defense to make their escape from the 
approaching officers that were in search of them. They 
agreed to tell him where the horses might be recovered if 
he would pledge to them his word and honor that he would 
forever keep secret and never betray their guilt. He agreed, 
and promised that he would not ; but would be a true friend 
to them. They shook hands and departed and in a few 



208 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

hours he was on his way to recover the stolen animals. They 
were kept on a ranch, owned and controled by an Indian in 
the Creek Nation, and were in good condition — it was said, 
much better than when stolen. 

Within a few days he returned with the stolen animals 
and on coming to a saloon known as the Four Corner Saloon 
and located in the community where the Christian boys were 
best known, he entered the saloon where a number of men 
were drinking and gambling, and where many more had 
paid death penalty, men who knew the Christian boys and 
close friend'', and began at once to relate the story of the 
stolen property, and who had stolen it. He boldly and above 
board gave the names of the two boys in violation of the 
very thing that he had staked his word and honor that he 
would not do. 

A few days passed and they met again, coming face to 
face only a short distance southwest of the saloon ; the 
boys were both riding on horseback while the man was 
afoot, they approached him and asked him if the reports 
were true that he had broken and violated his scared pro- 
mise to them, and he said it was true. Then the eldest of 
the boys Bob drew his gun and began swearing and said he 
would make him dance until he would never again commit 
such another act, and his music would be the sound or re- 
port of his sixshooter and the inspiration or stimulation 
would be the bullets playing about his feet. So he began 
firing at his feet and the man began dancing; several times 
he was wounded but was not allowed to cease his efforts 
until the report of the gun was heard at the saloon by one 
Mr. Turner, a United States federal officer, who had in his 
pos'='ession a warrant for the arrest of Bob Christian. Hear- 
ing the gun shot he m.ounted his horse and hurried to the 
scene and when he arrived and saw what had happened, 
finding the man to be his own brother-in-law, Mr. Yoakum, 
he demanded the two boys to surrender and consider them- 
^-elves under arrest, for he had a warrant and was going to 
serve it. Bob resisted the officer by saying, "You may go to 
a hotter climate and eat your warrant also." With this re- 
ply, the officer drew his gun and fired. The bullet took 
effect just over Bob's left eye, glancing around the skull. 
Will, his brother, being a gunsman true to type drew his gun 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 209 

in a flash and took the life of the officer who fell headlong 
from his horse into ,some tall grass. The officer's horse 
fled from the scene as the former fell with his gun in hand. 
Sjlrange to say, the gun was never found. The boys turned 
from the scene and fled in a southwestern direction, cross- 
ing a stream know as the Canadian river into the Choc- 
taw Nation. 

Now, this incident in the life of the boys created a still 
greater sentiment for and against them among the people 
and largely shaped' or formed the destiny and life of these 
boys, as outlaws. Day and night they were run and hounded 
by officers from one end of the country to the other; they 
engaged with many officers in running fights and skirm- 
ishes, but it seemed that all times Providence was in their 
favor, and they invariably made their escape when it seemed 
at times that it was impossible for them to do so. 

But after many months had passed and doubtless they 
had grown more desperate each day, their friends at last 
influenced them to con'^ider surrendering to the authori- 
ties and stand trial and take the punishment inflected upon 
them. I never understood how this work was ever accom- 
plished, I would have thought it would have been the last 
act of their lives to give up, but they did it. Doubtless it 
was brought to bear upon them in some way that they stood 
a fair chance of being acquitted as the officer had fired 
the first shot, which took effect over Bob's lift eye. So 
they surrendered and were tried in the court of Oklahoma 
county, Oklahoma before- a jury of twelve men who rendered 
a verdict of guilty assessed the following penalties. Will, 
ten years ; and Bob, fifteen years in the penitentiary. 

They being in prison behind the bars, we would think 
their outlaw life was finished, but in fact, dear readers, it 
had just begun. The morning sun was just rising touching 
the lives of these boys. Bob Christian for years had a 
sweetheart. Miss Emma Johnston, of Texas, who proved 
later to be one among the most daring, desperate women 
of the Southwest. She followed him to this country. At 
the time of their trial and imprisonment her home was at 
Sasakwa, Oklahoma, cooking for a crew of men running a 
grist mill. Bob paid her several visits while at large and 
in hiding in the timber and brush of Little River. 



210 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

After the sentence was imposed on the boys, the girl left 
immediately for Oklahoma City, and became an active mem- 
ber and worshiper in the Salvation army. The army would 
generally conduct services in the jail Sundays in the after- 
noon. None of the members of the army or the jailer knew 
anything of the girl; neither was she suspicioned in any 
way of knowing anything whatever about these outlaws. In 
some way she secured a couple of U. S. army gunS; the same 
guns that were used at this time at Fort Sill, Oklahoma 
by the soldiers. She also, in some way, secured two forty- 
five Colts revolvers together with belts, scabbards and am- 
munition. She took the Winchesters, and in some way un- 
known to the jailor, concealed them under the jail near the 
door, she concealed the revolvers underneath her garments. 
When they came into the jail for services she took her posi- 
tion and sat down near the cell occupied by the two boys 
and another outlaw known as Buttermilk John. She man- 
aged to slip the weapons into the cell. This was about the 
hour of three in the afternoon. It was summertime and the 
days were long; and about the hour of five the jailor came 
in with their meals, and of course the moment he appeared 
they covered him with their guns, demanding their release. 

He obeyed and released them. They took his keys lock- 
ing him in their cell, and fled by the way of the front door 
of the jail. Bob securing one of the Winchesters that had 
been placed by the girl near the door. There was a federal 
officer standing near the gate of the jail yard on a beauti- 
ful horse, the outlaw fired at him and killed him instantly 
and rushed out, caught the horse, mounted it and fled 
through the city in an easterly direction. He cro'='sed the 
river and disappeared, leaving his brother and one other 
criminal known as Buttermilk John behind to fight their 
way through and I will say too, that it has always been a 
mystery to me why he left his brother alone in the most 
critical hour of their outlaw life unless he felt sure of his 
brother's escape. 

So within a few moments Will and his comrade also got 
into the street. There came down the street an aged woman 
driving a horse to a two wheeled cart, he seized her, threw 
her into the street, took the horse and cart and fled, and 
in his flight he was wounded in the neck narrowly escaping 



Outlaws of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 211 

death. However, wounded as he was, he deserted the cart, 
leaving it near the Canadian river, and swam the river 
and made his escape although he was closely pursued by of- 
ficers and bloodhounds. In a short time he was safe in the 
hills and mountains of the Seminole Nation. 

The third prisoner. Buttermilk John, was left alone to 
die or to make his escape, so he, too, attempted to take a 
horse and buggy belonging to an aged man, by entering 
the buggy and attempting to throw him out into the street, 
but the man in some way held the prisoner until the officers 
arrived. Being excited they fired on him and killed him and 
at the same time wounded the aged man. 

Now the same evening that the outlaws made their get- 
away, the girl, who had as'^isted them and who had no 
doubt furnished the weapons, disappeared from the city and 
joined the outlaws at the former home where they had taken 
refuge and were being treated for their wounds. At this 
time the writer was living with an aged Indian who lived 
near Little River. I was assisting the Indian in building a 
log hut. While at work in the timber one morning about 
the hour of ten, I noticed three persons coming on horseback, 
and as they drew near I recognized them to be two men 
and a woman. Each man had a Winchester in hi^ hand, the 
woman had a belt of catridges an empty scabbard and a 
large sixshooter in her hand, and as they drew near, to 
my great suprise I recognized them to be the two Christian 
Boys and Emma Johnston, the girl I had formerly known 
at Sasakwa, Oklahoma. I asked them how came them there, 
and they told me that a few days ago they had been sen- 
tenced to the penitentiary at Leavensworth, Kansas, and 
that the authorities had given them permission to go 
through on horseback. 

iSo we all sat down upon the ground and they related to 
me the whole story of their escape and experience. As I 
sat there, there came to me a vision of their future life. 
I knew what it all meant and what the end would be; how- 
ever, it did not prove to be just as I thought of it in those 
moments. 

Forty-eight hours had pa-^sed since their escape and they 
had nothing whatsoever to eat. The home of the old Indian 
with whom I was living was only a short distance; he had 



212 The Life and Practice of the Indian 

some wild meat cooked and a little Sofaka corn, which I 
went and brought to them and they ate; and it seemed to 
me that they enjoyed it as much as any meal that I had 
ever seen eaten. It was growing late in the afternoon when 
they took their departure, all riding in Indian file, and 
soon disappeared in the thickness of the forest. They were 
no doubt on their way to the Jack Fork mountains in the 
Choctaw nation where they stayed in hiding for months. 

In a few months they appeared again engaging three fed- 
eral officers in gun battle, in which one officer lost his 
life another one wounded. Bob Christian barely escaped 
death, only having the protection of tall sage grass, after 
his horse had been shot from under him while the fight was 
on. The officers had no knowledge of the location of the girl 
but she stood near a quarter of a mile away with her gun 
resting along the side of a tree from which position she 
sent a bullet on its deadly mission which no doubt rescued 
her sweetheart from death or capture. Now, after the 
fight was over, the officer lay on the ground in a dying 
position, and the outlaw came to him, took his gun and his 
hor-^e and at the same time told him he would, on the next 
night return the horse and saddle to his widow, who at 
that time lived at Purcell, Oklahoma. The officer at Purcell, 
having some confidence in the outlaws promise, kept close 
guard until an early hour in the morning but giving up all 
hopes that the outlaw would make his promises good and 
reurn the horse, they went to their homes. To their great 
suprise, when the sun arose, the hor<?e and saddle were in 
the lot. Much more could be said of the outlaw life of the 
early days and even of the Christian boys and their opera- 
tions, but we will close by saying that the Christian gang 
was the most noted of all outlaws for the reason that they 
committed many robberies and killed a number of men. 
They have e'^'caped the penalty of their just and due reward 
until this day. 





Jf3Y«.%^ 



%^,''^ 




^- #'% -J 



PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES. LP. 
1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranderry Township. PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 






^i^.^ -^ -^ ^, 




,^^\ 








